


A Redemption - Sincerely Stilinski

by Serendipintea



Series: Female Stiles Stilinski [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, F/M, Hale Pack, Not good but not bad guy Peter, Peter is Alpha, Scarred Peter, So Is Peter, Stiles is a Little Shit, it's okay tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:34:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23141038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serendipintea/pseuds/Serendipintea
Summary: “Peter-” and then she was stumbling towards him, relief in her every pore, steadied by an equally shocked Derek. “Peter.” and then he was drawing her against his chest so her arms wound around his neck, pulling her close so he could be consumed by her scent. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” she whimpered against his collarbone.His answer was to take a single step forward, now right against the walker they had set up for him, and grabbed a fistful of her hair to tilt her head back and cover her mouth with his.
Relationships: Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Female Stiles Stilinski [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539316
Comments: 45
Kudos: 597
Collections: Steter, Steter_love





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Sorry that it's been a hot minute! 
> 
> I've recently found myself with quite a bit of time, managed to finish up that rewrite of A Redemption - Sincerely Stilinski! 
> 
> If you remember the older version, then you'll notice that quite a few things have been changed! If not, welcome to the story! I hope you enjoy!

“Fuck you, Derek.” Stiles Stilinski cursed as she knelt in front of his Uncle, gentle hands barely whispering over his own. “Werewolves heal, don’t they? I bet he would’ve healed faster if someone from his family had been here with him.” Scott flinched from her and from Derek when he gave his own growl. “Yeah, don’t like it that I’m right you fucker? You said the Hunters did it, yet you left your Uncle all alone, catatonic, to be at the Mercy of the Hunters while ya’ll ran away and _stayed_ away?” 

“You don’t know,” he ground out, “anything.” 

“Yeah? That’s ‘cause I had to figure everything out by myself!” she snapped back, giving the older male no time to be properly defensive. “I found out everything I could, and you tried to kill me, _twice_ !” she centered on Scott, fury rising. “You didn’t listen to me, accused me of trying to ruin your ‘perfect’ life, and then you told me it was _my fault_ that you’ve never been able to get a girlfriend. _You_ told me you didn’t want to be friends anymore after years of being _siblings_ , so fuck you, Scott McCall, fuck you both” she exhaled long and hard out of her nose and centered her whiskey gold eyes on Peter’s sea-blue ones. 

“I’m Stiles,” not a lie, but not a full truth, “No one can pronounce my real name.” she eyed his scars and gently swept a few strands of his hair off the tender flesh. The look in his eyes reminded her too much of her mother when she had her bad days. It ate at her.

“Wolves are pack animals,” she started, glaring shortly at Derek and Scott, trying to calm her breathing so she didn’t overwhelm the werewolf in front of her. “since what's left of yours abandoned you, I’ll take their place.” she did not react when his eyes turned a little to her, too unnoticeable of a movement for Derek and Scott to pick it up. “Derek you want to be useful and tell me how I do that, or should I go by what I googled and let him bite my neck?”

“That’s only if you’re doing a claiming bite,” Derek actually sounded a little impressed, honestly, aside from his anger and disgust.

“Fine.” and so she did something that told Derek all he needed to know about Stiles Stilinski, she rubbed her cheek against Peter’s unscarred one until his lips were at the joint of her throat. “I don’t want to cause you discomfort or pain by doing that on the other side of your face, so hopefully that'll do for now.” she sniffed and leaned back, obviously having done more than just googling for the information she had. “Though I probably should’ve asked.” she frowned in thought and looked to Derek, pouting at the thought of having forced something on him. Her question turned into a cough when she felt a very warm trickle in her chest and a turbulent pain down her left arm. 

“Only other Wolves can feel pack bonds, and they can be denied if they’re unwanted.” then what was this pain and loneliness and _fury_ that she felt just in the back of her mind? “He’s not even in his own mind, he won’t be able to accept or deny it.” 

“Hey Derek?” his glare frightened her only a little, “fuck you.” she rose Peter’s wrist and kissed the inside of it before she stood, still glaring pointedly at Derek. “I’ll get my own answers,” she shoulder checked both as she made her way out, “the way I always do.” 

The next time he saw her was two days later, back in his Uncle’s room.

“You can take him? You can’t even teach another werewolf how to control their anger.” Stiles scoffed, backpack falling into one of the free chairs in the room, glaring at Derek. “I just taught him how to control his anger, his shift, _and_ helped him find his anchor while you, what? Came crawling back to the uncle you abandoned, begging for help?” 

“Shut, the fuck, up.” she rolled her eyes and rubbed her cheek against Peter’s, greeting him with a small smile. It pissed Derek off, here was this… this _child_ acting like pack, acting all - all care free because _she_ didn’t have the trauma that revolved around his family! “The only reason you’re clinging to him is because Scott dropped you like a rock. You think you can replace him with my Uncle, someone who can’t tell you if they want you to get lost or not?!” her eyes held controlled chaos when she centered them on him, scent practically saturated with anger and pity.

“Funny how he dropped me like a rock and I’m still managing to help him more than you.” she hissed.

“Funny thing about being dropped like a rock? Scott’s girlfriend is now my friend, she’s trying to reconcile between the two of us. Ended up spending the night last night. I got to speak with Kate and I got to do a little snooping of my own. Stole a couple of their books too, got to do more than just ‘google’ what I want to know.” she took the lukewarm pitcher on the bedside and opened the bathroom door, emptying it into the sink. “My dad always says that guilty people will make a mistake, always. Kate messed up in the fact that she kept a journal where she wrote everything down, her plans. Kate set the fire with her daddies approval, they didn’t let Chris know because he’s too ‘soft hearted’ for that kind of commitment.” she rinsed out the cup and brought it back into the room, glaring at the shocked Derek. “She wrote about how sick and twisted of a human being she is, too. You or Peter need to kill her. 

“What,” it was gasped in pain, in fear and self-loathing. 

  
“She’s a rapist,” she stated blandly, staring at him with an intensity that both soothed and riled him. “Those that helped her should suffer too, long and slow, have everything taken from them. But Pyscho Bitch Barbie, she deserves to fucking die, and not quick either.” with a huff she took out a candle warmer from her backpack and a large Sandalwood and vanilla candle, along with two cold bottles of purified water. “She got past your house’s wards because Deaton is shit at protective wards.”

“Get that from her journal too?” he snapped, unsure how he was supposed to feel and unable to pick one emotion out of the storm of ones inside him. 

  
“No, got that out of a few of his books that I stole when he went out on lunch, figured he’d have the same kind of wards around them and used the same method Kate did. I guess it’s fortunate so many people like keeping records of things, otherwise I’d have to _goo-_ ”

“Would you stop?!” he roared, clutching at his head and slamming his back into the wall, panicking. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Her hands were cold but soothing against the gruff of his facial hair. “Derek, listen to me and repeat when you can, okay? This too will pass, only the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth cannot long be hidden.” she waited a few seconds before beginning anew. “This too will pass, for I have faith that the Moon will Rise and Fall, and Rise Again.” he wasn’t sure why, maybe it was her words or her tone, or maybe even her scent that blossomed with amber to welcome him, but he began to calm down almost immediately. “This too will pass, for I am a survivor.” the more he came to the more he realized she was rubbing her thumbs over his cheekbones, scenting him and soothing him in a way that should’ve made him angrier. 

  
Her, a human who had only been in the supernatural world for a week, was comforting and helping him, a born wolf, bring him back under control. It was insulting, ridiculous, and impossible. It was perfect. 

“This too will pass, only the Sun, the Moon, and the Truth cannot long be hidden.” he started after her second repeat ended, joining her on her third. “This too will pass, for I have faith that the Moon will Rise and Fall, and Rise Again.” she nodded, golden eyes twinkling at him with a smile. “This too will pass, for I am a survivor.” he exhaled long and slow then gently - _when had he put his hands overtop hers? -_ lowered her hands from his face. “Where did you learn that?” 

“I made it up, knew the ‘What three things cannot long be hidden’ from my therapist when I was younger. Added the moon bit ‘cause, ya know, werewolves, and then the sun and moon rising and falling because it stimulates breathing and is a constant in the world.” she shrugged, eyed him for a second to make sure he was okay, and went back to the bed to grab the bottled water and one of the various straws she had loaded up on when she made her way down the hallway. “What was he like?” She questioned Derek when he remained in the room, kneeling in front of Peter so that she could bring the straw to his lips. 

“Mischievous, manipulative and coy.” Derek sighed and sat back on the bed, watching as his Uncle managed to swallow some water - _muscle memory_ , she told him as an explanation, _his body remembers what it's supposed to do_. “He was also protective and loyal, always the first to check on Cora and our cousins to make sure they were okay.” 

“What do you think you’re doing?” the nurse growled, cutting them off and eyeing the bottle of water Peter had half downed. “He’s NPO, that means-”

“So where’s his G-Tube then?” Stiles snarked back, glaring dangerously at the shocked nurse. “He has a machine in here, but there’s no G-Tube, does that mean you’re not feeding him?” Stiles pulled the straw away when he stopped swallowing and gently brushed back a few of his hairs that had fallen onto his scarred skin. “Is that what you’re saying, or are you lying?” 

“ _Why_ would I-?!” 

  
“I don’t know, why would you?” the nurse shut her mouth with an audible snap, “And before you pull the ‘You’re not allowed to be in here’, you can check his records - which I just dropped off after having them signed by a Judge - that states I am his new PoA.” she flicked her wallet open and showed her the (fake) I.D, thanking God that she was _nowhere_ _near_ her area of Beacon Hills. “Now, would you like to try again? I’d love to call the Ombudsman for your inappropriate behavior.” 

“No ma’am,” she growled out through her smile, “I’m sorry.” Stiles snickered when she marched away, shoulders taught with anger.

“Good, now that that’s over.” she turned back to Peter and adjusted the bathrobe so that it kept him calm and comfortable. “Derek, I need your muscles, they weren’t careful with dressing him this morning and his pants are up his ass crack. I don’t like wedgies, Peter doesn’t look like he likes them either.” she smiled softly and swore that his eyes smiled back at her. “He’s just gonna lift you up for a smidge ‘cause I won’t wanna let go and I’m gonna fix your pants, then we’ll go for a stroll.” Derek hesitated in front of his uncle as she locked the wheelchair and put his footrests to the side. “Derek, just give him a fucking hug and lift.” so he did and it felt… nice, actually. It took him back to when Peter and his mom would hug him or have Pack Dinners together, it healed a little bit of his ache. “Alright, all good.” He put him back in the chair nice and slow, not wanting to lose that comfort just yet. 

“Good, alright, grab that water for me,” she fixed his footrests as Derek did just that, then relaxed when the candle began warming up and filling his room with an outdoorsy scent instead of the antiseptic stale one that had remained stagnant. “Perfect, now, the weather said it would be a little chilly and we might even see a bit of snow, so-” with a huff she pulled out a folded quilt and her favorite red plaid scarf. “These are for you,” she told Peter as she settled the scarf around his neck loosely. “They should smell more like me than my detergent, hope it’s not too rank.”

She was comforting him with the smell of pack, talking to him and scenting him in ways that only an experienced born wolf would think of. She was doing things he and Laura should’ve done. 

  
“Alright, let’s go!” he made a pointed look at her jacketless form, in fact, he just eyed her whole outfit with a level of skepticism. She wore black tights under blue jean shorts, steel-toed boots, a black V-neck shirt underneath a red and black plaid button up that was _not_ buttoned up and had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was down and she wore a choker with a single star in the center. “I don’t get cold easily, if I do I’ll just roll down my sleeves and lay on his bed for a bit or something.” he rolled his eyes and shrugged his leather jacket off, handing it to her with a single brow raised in challenge. “What about you?” 

“I’ve got another one in my car, I’ll be right back.” she nodded, smiling softly as she shrugged on the Leather jacket. 

“Oh, he’s not getting this back, holy fuck.” it was heavy, real leather, and it was so goddamn _warm_ that it was ridiculous. “Oh fuck, I did it again.” she sighed heavily, realizing that she had somehow made friends with someone she had been angry at and now was no longer angry at him. “I mean, he’s your family right, that’s gotta count for something.” she sighed heavily again and began pushing him out of his room, Derek joining a few moments after with another leather jacket on. 

She talked endlessly, just little tidbits of factual information about herself and the area. Derek wasn’t surprised that she had ADHD and had been awake for the past three days researching to her heart's content about werewolves and coma patient facts and care. She was seventeen - _yes the ID was a fake, and that document titling my alias as his PoA is totally legit -_ and was always making sure her dad ate healthy foods. Stiles was smart, like _really_ smart but she could never apply it to a general selection of information. She always focused inherently on one or two things, or on dozens of things at once for seconds at a time. 

She had quit Lacrosse but promised Coach that she would still bring him by her baked goods, just so she could keep her title as favorite and silently support Jackson. Jackson who apparently hated her brother and she was weirdly attracted to and hated in the same breath. She was also fluent in Polish, Ancient Latin ( _I thought it would help me with science and English, it kinda did, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Lydia speaks it),_ English, and Portuguese ( _Mom’s last name was Gajos, grandma was Polish and Grandpa was Portuguese, I wanted to be like my family._ ).

She taught herself how to cook - thanks to various recipes and cookbooks her mother had left behind - and kept it up over the years, especially after her father had his first heart attack. “So, Derek, if you want some home-cooked food you’re going to have to come here and visit us after school. Otherwise, I’m going to give your share to Danny.” the gay best friend of Jackson and the one who had taught her how to hack and code when Jackson and Lydia went away to Paris for their summer vacation. “Now that I think about it I’ll actually have to get a backpack that retains heat.” 

“I could give you a ride? How did you even get here?” her grin was full predator. 

  
“I drove,” fuck that, how had she not caused accidents yet? “I got Roscoe, gives me plenty of room to stuff the fucker with my snacks and shit during Lacrosse games.” she shrugged. 

“Roscoe is… the jeep?” she nodded and smiled happily at him when he held the room door open for her, watching as she knelt back in front of Peter and brought his hands into her own, glad that they were warm from where she had put them under her quilt.

“Yeah,” her scent turned sour with cinnamon, sorrow and regret slowly curling around her. “I’m sorry about your sister, Derek, but I’m worried. Cutting in half is Gerard Argent’s M.O. I don’t think the Omega killed her, I think he might’ve put her out of her misery, because Gerard likes leaving them strung up.” she hated saying it, hated being able to discuss gruesome murder as if it were a subject in school. “With Kate being here, I’ve no doubt Gerard is too, he just hasn’t made it known yet.” 

“I…” he swallowed, not having thought about that. “Thank you.” 

“You too,” she told Peter after smiling softly at Derek, “I’m sorry you lost your niece,” her eyes were almost _too_ keen, “I hope that they are here in Beacon Hills again, I’d happily cover up their murders. Anyway,” she brushed her cheek against his and brushed his hair back from his scarred flesh once more, noting faintly that it wasn’t _as_ scarred, nor as red. “I’ve got to head home before it gets too dark, I’ll be back tomorrow though with some apology food. Might be a little late because I gotta drop off Coach’s cupcakes, but then I’ll be here.” she turned the candle warmer off and put her scarf under his pillowcase, quickly writing his name down on the cover seam so it would return straight to him if it was taken away. 

“I’ll come with you,” he teetered in front of Peter but, after an elbow being jammed into his back, pushed past his insecurities and scented his Uncle’s wrist. “I’m sorry, Uncle Peter.” 

“He’ll be okay,” she told him once they were outside again, stalling by his car when he looked back at the building with uncertainty. 

“I hope you’re right,” he took the paper tucked under his windshield wiper, thinking it a ticket, only to glare at it in understanding. “That theory you had about Gerard being in town?” he reluctantly handed her the paper, “that symbol? It means revenge, it’s a declaration of a vendetta.” 

“Time to see Deaton,” he nodded and followed after her, mildly surprised that she looked like she knew what she was doing. “Time to see what the Druid knows.” then she was marching into the closed Animal Clinic and leaving a fidgety Derek to follow behind her. “Hi Deaton,” she greeted when he thought her to be Scott, “Here to return your Druid book I stole.” with a wave of said book she cherished the look of alarm on his face before marching into the back and replacing it with another leatherbound book. “Stealing another one.” She informed him, waving it in the air before stuffing the thing into her backpack. “Anyway, Deaton meet Derek Hale, we know you were the former Hale pack Emissary and that you know exactly what that-” Derek opened the paper up and put it on the table, jaw clenching to keep in his anger, “means. Because _we_ know what it means.” 

“I don’t know who did it or why,” he started, gaze flickering between the both of them in a mix of emotions. “But I think that it was to lure you and your sister back to Beacon Hills.”

“Yes, that’s what we figured as well.” she rocked back on her heels and eyed the clinic with a frown. “We, _I_ , think Gerard is back. Kate is, and Laura was cut in half which is Gerard’s M.O. So far the two haven’t been separated since they all left Beacon Hills together six years ago.” she shrugged and found another one of his wards, surprising the Druid further. “I stole one of Kate’s journals, honestly at this point I guess I’m sounding like a Klepto?” she grinned all teeth at Derek, “anyway! Scott got bit, so he’s a ‘were, I taught him control, found his anchor, and helped him control his shift. Do you have any books on ‘were’s and the like?” when he realized she was fully serious he activated one of his runes on the brick wall and grabbed a few books that were in the brick drawer that had popped out. With a hesitance neither understood he held the books out to her and flinched when she took them, stuffing them, too, into her backpack. “Perfect, that’ll keep me up for another day at least.” 

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Derek questioned, knowing that it’d be her fourth day wide awake. 

“Probably?” she offered a shrug, “I once stayed up for a solid week learning Polish during summer, then again learning how to code and hack. I’ll just crash for a couple of days.” 

“How much Adderall do you have left?” Deaton asked in concern, not wanting this young girl to overdo it despite how impressed he was with her. 

“Hm? Oh, plenty. Refilled it every date like I was taking it normal, but I don’t take it normal so-” she shrugged again, tapping her finger against her thigh with her inaction. “Hey, I gotta curfew I have to abide by, will you two play nice?” she stared at Derek at that, brows raised to her hairline in inquiry. 

  
“Yes,” he rolled his eyes, fighting back a grin for the female. 

“Good, Uh my last class is a free period, so I’ll be heading home in Roscoe to get my cupcakes and food, if you can pick me up and drop me off at the school then that’d be perfect, if not I’ll just drive there.” she bolted before he could reply, leaving the two men in awe. 

.

“You,” Coach Finstock chuckled, “you are my favorite.” Stiles smiled big and broad when he smacked a kiss on her cheek, then pointed at all of his Lacrosse players with a serious frown. “Now that wasn’t sexual, I think of her like a daughter!” chuckles rose at that then grew when he took half the cupcake in one bite, coating his nose and upper lip in blue icing. 

“Could I talk to you for a minute?” Jackson muttered to her, glancing around nervously. When she nodded he tugged her to the side, away from the others, “Look, I’ve never been nice to you, but you’re _feeding_ Scott something and I’m - I want to know what it is” He looked it, he looked like he detested asking her, as if he expected her to lie or tell him to get lost. “ _What_ is he getting? she blinked, then sighed when he continued to look at her with hope for an answer. 

“Take your gloves off,” when she met his gaze with hers he huffed but pulled off his gloves. “When someone lies their pulse jumps,” she grabbed his hand and put it on her throat, two fingers pressing into her pulse point. “The sky is black,” he _felt_ her pulse jump, “The sky is blue,” no change. “Scott _is_ cheating,” a jump, “but it isn’t his fault.” no change. 

What. 

“Scott is a Werewolf.” no change, NO CHANGE?! “Allison’s family is a family of Hunters _who has killed_ before.” no change, _again!?_ “You’re not stupid, Jackson, take a minute and think.” well, no change, he was flattered. 

“He tried to tell me,” he mused, thinking back over every interaction he’d had with Scott and those he had witnessed. “Said he could hear, smell, see and feel things he shouldn’t be able to.” 

“Yeah, it enhances your senses, but it also enhances your emotions too, your blood lust. He’s tried to kill me _twice_ because he shifted and couldn’t control it.” no change, ouch. “I helped him control it, but he still has problems here and there.” 

“I want it,” her brow rose. “The bite, I want to be a werewolf too.” 

“You sure? Werewolves are pack animals Jackson, family animals. They don’t go out on their own, they go crazy and turn into a homicidal monster that goes off of instinct, ones that do that are called Omegas.” 

“I don’t know what family is like,” he admitted, though it was after a few moments of contemplative silence. “I still want it, so I’ll give it a shot.” 

“Kay, and Jackson?” he hummed, eyeing her as if seeing her for the first time. “Your hand is still on my throat.”

“You let me keep it there,” he retorted even though he had slowly removed it, swallowing thickly against the realization that she had told him the truth, a monumental truth, and did so in a way that came across crystal clear to him despite everything he’d put her through for years.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?” he shook his head, “Good, come meet with my Alpha tomorrow, we’ll chat. Are you okay with driving me? Otherwise, you’ll have to follow me.” 

“I’ll drive you, we can talk on the way there and back,” she nodded, bent, and brushed off his gloves. 

“Jackson?” he looked at her again, surprised at just how pretty Stiles actually was. She had long hair and slinky but obvious feminine figure. She was fairer-skinned than most other girls - and was almost always sporting tired, black eyes or an exuberant, quirky smile that was _doing things_ to him. Her skin was littered with beauty marks and freckles dotting her skin like constellations in a negative filter. Her eyes were more gold than normal. 

“Don’t get hurt, and kick ass.” he smirked at her, the witty retort of ‘I always do’ dying at the twinkle of a smile in her eyes that focused on him. Stiles was different from Lydia, maybe he liked different. He tried not to think about it when he noticed Lydia’s glare and Allison’s confused smile when he saw them on the bleachers. 

“Ready?” Derek asked her as he met her in the parking lot, scenting her out of habit then _blushing_ when he realized what he did. 

“Sourwolf, get over it, we’re pack now.” and just like that he was over it because yes, they were pack, a pack with no Alpha but a pack nonetheless. “Give me just a sec to get the containers out of Roscoe.” he nodded, taking the time she offered so he could think over everything that had been revealed last night with Deaton. He had been in love with Derek’s mother, he had been the Emissary for Hale pack and had been the one to help secure their land and assets when everyone died so the Hale Legacy wouldn’t be lost. He groaned in appreciation when he smelled the liver and onions, curious if she knew what she was doing by preparing that specific meal.   
  


“So, liver has healing properties and is often shared to the injured wolf so they can get the nutrients and vitamins from it, truth?” when he nodded she beamed and began gnawing on her bottom lip. “So, Pack status. Peter, at this point, is kind of the Alpha, right?”

  
“I’d say you are, actually.” she balked at that, “You brought the pack together, you’re scenting and providing for the pack, calming me when I was freaking out, providing a mantra.” he shrugged, “I’ve never been suited for Alpha status, never wanted it. Laura had gotten it from our grandmother on her twelfth birthday but never got to learn how to be a good alpha. We weren’t really a pack, we were just us two.” he breathed out in relief when she placed her hand on his arm, calming him with just a touch. “And that, when you do things like that you remind me of an Alpha.” 

“Oh, sorry.” she yanked her hand back, “I should ask before touching, I’ve always been tactile.” she stammered but ultimately relaxed when he grabbed her hand and put it on the back of his neck. 

“When you grab here it’s more potent, but it’s also seen as intimate. It’s meant for scenting loved ones, family and others.” he released her hand to brush it down her arm. “That’s a customary scenting mark, it’s done for formal greetings if you’re not familiar with the person or if you’re just trying to be polite.” he held his hand to the back of her seat as he backed into a parking spot, flashing a grin at her. “The cheek scenting thing you do? That’s _intimate_ , normally it's reserved for lovers or mates. It can also be done for wounded pack mates to soothe them quick,” 

“Meh,” she grabbed her cases and put three in Derek’s hands, grinning smugly when he smiled giddily at the boxes. 

“I think he was looking forward to your cooking, he didn’t eat a bite of his lunch!” one of his aids called, grinning happily when she spotted the containers of food. “That or he’s still unused to actually eating.” she laughed softly, “If you need any of it warmed up just let me know, we’ve got a microwave in the breakroom I’d be happy to use for you.” 

“Thank you Leighanne,” now that Derek thought about it, the containers were still pretty hot considering the thirty-minute drive they had just taken, not including how long it had been resting in her backseat. “Warming runes, page 67 of Deaton’s book that I took. Peter, we’re here!” she smiled and placed the containers on the bedside table and brushed her cheek against his, brushing his hair back from his face and frowning slightly at the length. “Liver and Onions,” she took the candle warmer with the used candle and set it aside, waiting to be used, then handed Derek a bottled water while he set up on the bed. “Gonna give you a drink first, then we’ll eat some, kay?” she hummed an upbeat, catchy tune while rocking back and forth on her feet, overflowing with joy and comfort. 

“What are you humming?” Derek asked after she continued humming, swaying happily while she let Peter drink from the bottled water. 

  
“Hm? Oh, Olly Murs - Dance With Me Tonight.” she picked up the free chair and set it beside his wheelchair, also bringing the table forward after setting a napkin against his chest while a free one rest on her lap. “My name is Olly nice to meet you can I tell you baby,” she began singing, wiggling in her chair as she stabbed a section of the steaming liver and twirled a piece of the sauteed onion with the fork, “Look around there's a whole lot of pretty ladies, but not like you, you shine so bright~” they sat like that, with her switching between humming and singing while she fed Peter, taking bites between his chewing. 

“So, can only Alpha’s turn people into Werewolves?” she questioned, “or is that just something that’s frowned upon for Beta’s to do?” 

“Only Alpha ‘were’s,” Derek explained after swallowing his mouth full, “but pack bonds can form between other ‘were’s without the Alpha’s permission or required presence. Ultimately the Alpha would have to accept the pack bond that was formed with the person or werewolf, but they’d be an associate packmate. Normally it’s only werewolves that can be Alpha’s of a pack, there are such things as alpha humans but.. They’re rare.” she hummed, staring briefly at Peter as he swallowed mouthfuls of water. 

“Do you think,” she slid her hand under his, hiding it from Derek’s view by the table, “he would be okay if I brought someone who could be a strong Beta, a strong packmate to meet him? Maybe see if just him being here would help him improve?” 

“Mm, you have to be careful about who you bring.” he told her, “not only because they could kill him but also because they could end up being used or targeted by the Argents.” Stiles hummed but was paying more attention to the finger tracing Y E S onto the back of her hand, giving her permission to bring the potential packmate to meet him. 

“Nah, he’s hard-headed and an asshole on the best of days, but he’s not a bad guy. He’s got this fierce desire to please everyone though, to rise up above all expectations. He’s adopted and never really forgiven his parents for keeping that secret from him, so he doesn’t know what a family or pack life is like. I figure if we can get him to join our lil pack he’ll be one of our most fiercely loyal pack members, and he would _definitely_ be a boost in our current power, which could help him heal faster.” she gave his fingers a small squeeze and brought her hand back to grab the bottle. Derek didn’t question her on if this new person was a ‘were or not, and for that she was grateful.

“You’re taking our enhanced sense of taste into account,” Derek realized, staring at the half-filled container in his hands with eyes blown wide. “How-?”

“I just assumed that your sense of taste was enhanced with your other senses.” She shrugged, brushing his hair off his scarred flesh. “Think I’m gonna trim your hair up tomorrow,” she fidgeted, realized she was tapping her thigh with her other hand. “Or maybe when I’ve had sleep and my hand is steady.” She nodded, “Hey, did he have any shampoos or stuff he liked using? Scent wise?” she grinned and put away the empty water bottle. 

“I’m not sure,” 

“That’s okay, he looks like he enjoyed some of the finer things in life.” she hummed happily and went back to feeding him, answering a question from Derek every now and then about what she planned to do, what she was planning on doing after school. She grinned with all her teeth when he was surprised she was in her senior year already. “I got to skip fifth grade, I’m smart but my ADHD makes it nearly impossible to focus on all those subjects all day. If something interests me then I fucking zero in on it. Oh, like last night! I read my entire bio book because I read about STEM cells and thought it would have something about them in it.” 

“I could teach you how to fight?” Derek offered, eyeing her frame. “It might help, if anything it’ll give you something you can do to exhaust yourself into sleeping.” 

“Might have to do a bit of weight lifting or something,” she slapped her hand against her stomach pudge and grinned happily. “I’d like to learn how to fight, at least so I can defend anyone in our pack.” when Derek continued to stare at her she fidgeted, nervous and suddenly feeling like she were naked. “What?”

“You’re just-” he shook his head and put his container down, “you’re different, you remind me of how the other born wolves were with one another. Always looking out for the pack, caring for our sick and injured, it’s… nice, familiar. Is the bite, is that something you’d want?”

“Maybe eventually,” she admitted with a nod, “but from what I read Humans are essential to the pack, especially Emissaries. I think if it came down to where we didn’t need me anymore that I’d like the bite, that way I could be a part of the pack in every sense.” 

“You are already part of the pack and I’m fairly certain you’re a human Alpha.” his brows furrowed in agitation, “You got a pack bond formed with me.” he eyed his uncle, frustration leaking to a pathetically hopeful expression that stayed with just his eyes, as if he was afraid to show too much emotion in a single day. “He’s healed enough to be able to accept pack bonds,” he shifted, “and that’s from only these past three days. If Laura and I had stayed-” 

“You’re making up for it now.” Stiles told him sternly, grinning when Peter finished his last bite. “I think I’ll crash this weekend, just so I can come back Monday and give his hair a trim.” With a kiss to Peter’s forehead she packed away her containers and turned on the candle warmer. “C’mon Sourwolf, your turn to push him around while I point out the few flowers and things they have in the courtyard.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Look, skinship helps werewolves heal, especially among pack. I’m a tactile person, I may not be the most fucking attractive to the eyes but here I am. Moreover, if you bite me then you fucking bite me and I turn or I die. I’ll be pissed about it for a while but that’s because I’ll have to teach myself control and curb my possessive tendencies. I brought my laptop and my charger, got a spare change of clothes, some scissors, and I have every intention of trimming your hair.” her hands were twitching at her sides and her pulse had sped up, filling the room with Pine and Ozone with her anger. “Now, you can either be complacent with my plans tonight until you shift or I can jab you a few times. Your choice.” 

“His name is Peter Hale,” Stiles told Jackson once she was buckled into his passenger seat, ignoring the shocked and betrayed expressions from Scott, and Lydia. “He was in acoma for nearly six years because Kate Argent set his house on fire with him and his family trapped inside. Eleven people died, he was the only survivor.” She offered him a metal container and grinned at his alarmed expression. “I eat with him after school, you’re joining us ergo you get some too. Anyway, Kate’s father, Gerard Argent, is a real geriatric pyscho fuck. He cuts Werewolves in half with a fucking sword. Laura Hale is Derek’s older sister and Peter’s Niece, she was an alpha and had come back to Beacon Hills when Kate lured her into returning. They had cut her in half and Peter, who could only do partial transformations, found her as she was dying and mercy killed her, giving him the Alpha spark that was inside her.” 

“I-what?” she blinked at his squeak, then rolled her eyes and took his hand, placing it right back on her throat at her pulse point, recognizing faintly that they hadn’t actually moved from the school parking lot. 

“The only way to become an Alpha is to kill one, she was dying slowly from having the bottom half of her body cut off, so he took mercy on her and finished her off.” she shrugged and put her backpack between her legs on the floor board. “Anyway, our pack is currently Peter - as the Alpha, me - I guess at this point I’m kind of like an Emissary though Derek says I’m like the alpha? Those are the appointed Humans of the pack that act as the humanity for the group, keeping the wolf side and the human side in balance. Derek is a Beta, and after you get bit you’ll be a Beta too.” she stilled and turned to Jackson with a frown, aware that he had kept his hand at her throat for the full explanation. “Jackson, the bite might not take, you could die. Are you sure you want this?” 

She didn’t sound like she was doubting him, didn’t look at him with pity or scorn. For that alone, he thought briefly about kissing her. The fact that she was telling him all this, being truthful and letting him  _ know _ it was the truth, well, it calmed him down. 

  
“I do, I’ll live.” she grinned at him, golden eyes twinkling with mirth. 

  
“This too will pass, for I am a survivor.” she chortled at his confused expression and removed his hand from her neck gently. “Right, so when you change you’ll have to work on your anger control otherwise you’ll start shifting out of random and become a target for the Argents.” okay, she was definitely smirking at the rearview mirror when they pulled out of the school parking lot. “You’re girlfriend is about to call.” 

The moment she finished talking Jackson’s phone rang, as did hers. With a snort she screened Scott’s call and set her phone to Do Not Disturb. She was surprised all to hell and back when Jackson didn’t answer his phone and, instead, just turned the damn thing off. 

“He probably won’t bite you until Wednesday as Sunday is the Full Moon, that gives me enough time to fill you in on some information and get you started on some calming techniques as well as the few things of Pack lifestyle that I’ve learned about.” his jaw grit in anger but he didn’t retort or snark her, which she was grateful for. “I’ll be crashing all weekend since I’ve been up for a week now, that should give you enough time to figure out what to tell Lydia. With you having Lacrosse practice I’ll give you the address of the nursing home he’s staying at.”

“Nursing home, how old is he?” she gasped a laugh at his tone. 

“He’s 32 last I checked, but because he was so badly burned they took him to an Intensive care Unit, after three years or so they moved him to a Nursing home so he could have the 24 hour care he needed.” she shrugged, “Derek’s gonna teach me how to fight too, he thinks it’ll help with my ADHD, think you can help me weightlift? You know all the safety measures and shit.” 

“You want to weightlift?” his eyes were not on her in disgust or disbelief like she was expecting them too, not he almost looked like he was excited. 

“Yeah, I need some muscle if I’m gonna learn how to fight. Werewolves are naturally stronger, faster, and have better instincts.” she shrugged, “You doing 4 plates on each side? That’ll increase by 2,  _ at least _ . That means you’re going to be one strong ass werewolf, and with you having honed your instincts with Lacrosse you’ll be a complete badass.” 

“Is that why you decided to tell me the truth? Why you want me in this pack, because I’ll be a badass?” he sounded angry, he sounded hurt. 

“Partially,” he jerked a bit at her honesty, having expected her to lie and placate him the way his friends were used to doing. “Strong pack members will help him heal faster, but that’s not the full reason, no.” when they stopped at a red light she took his hand and put it back on her throat, “I wanted you in the pack, Jackson, because you’re not a bad guy, you’re just an asshole sometimes. It’s not out of pity either so stop scowling, if anyone deserves to feel what Pack Life is like, what a Family is like, then it’s you. You’ve taken care of Danny, beat up those fuckers in middle school who used to make fun of him, and made sure everyone accepted him when you came into high school. You didn’t  _ have _ to do that, but you did, because he’s your friend.” 

She… knew about that? Not even Lydia had known he had, hadn’t known that he had protected Danny or got into fights regularly through middle school  _ for _ Danny. It was why he had buffed up so much, why he had taken his weightlifting so seriously. If he was going to fight he wasn’t going to get his ass kicked, he would be doing the ass-kicking. 

“Okay,” he decided, brushed his thumb over her throat, and went back to driving, unaware that she was blushing beside him. “What else will happen? Do I shift on a full moon? Do I turn into a wolf or a wolfman?”

“More wolfman, you grow claws, your ears point and you grow some serious sideburns. Your eyes will also be able to flash. Red is for Alpha, Orange is a beta, blue is a Beta who has killed before. There are only a few werewolves who can do a full shift - or so I’ve read so far. Turn left here,” she rubbed the back of her neck and stretched, popping her spine partially. “Okay, another thing before we get there. Scenting, it’s like a handshake.” she grabbed his hand again - it really should bother him how much she’s done that but he founds he really doesn’t mind all that much actually. “The wrist is meant for loved ones, it’s kind of like a peck on the cheek. You’d rub it against your cheek.” she dropped his hand and brushed her hand down his arm, “That’s the formal greeting, that’s the one more kin to a handshake. When you get in that’s how you’ll greet him, be gentle but firm, sort of like a handshake. Back of the neck-” when her hand hesitated at his shoulder he rolled his eyes and leaned forward,  _ needing _ to learn so he could do it all perfect. “This is seen as an intimate gesture, meant for loved ones or family, but it can be also used for those that need relief and comfort. It’s a faster, more potent way to cover them in your scent.” 

“So this whole time I’ve been scenting you intimately?” He couldn’t stop the grin even if he tried, especially not when she snorted and squirmed in his passenger seat. 

“Yes and no, I didn’t care about the implications because I needed you to know I was telling the truth, only way to do that was for you to be able to feel my pulse. It’s not strong in my wrists ‘cause my heart beats too fast normally, closer to the heart and the bigger the artery the easier you can feel it.” 

“Okay,” it made sense but now he was curious if he’d continue to scent her that way when he turned. Would their dynamic change in school too? Not that he was all that worried about it, they were both graduating this year. 

“You’ll see me rub my cheek against his, that’s a really intimate way of scenting. I started it because he’d been abandoned and I thought it the quickest way to get him comforted by pack smell and start healing. Now its habit, it’s mainly done to lovers or to injured pack mates.” she hummed, “Do you have a cover or something you don’t care to part with? I’ve brought a couple things over to his room - go down this road on the right - but the more he’s surrounded by pack smell the quicker he’ll be able to recover.”

“Kind of like a den,” she thought about it for a solid minute before nodding. “Alright, I’ve a few things I can bring over. Should I wash them-?” 

“Not if they’re clean. The more they smell like you the better.” she hummed thoughtfully, finger tapping along on her thigh. “Tell you what, if you help me learn weightlifting I’ll provide meals? They’re healthy ‘cause of my dad, and the few meat dishes I’ve been making are rich in fiber and nutrients for Peter. You don’t have to answer now, you can decide when you’ve finished eating or Monday.” 

“What did you even make?” she glanced down at her containers while he backed into a parking spot, briefly noting that she looked a little uncertain with her choice now. 

  
“Uh, bistro steak with string beans and a couple things of asparagus.” she shrugged, “it was dad’s meat night and he’s been hinting that he wanted steak for a while now. I’ve got a free period for last period so I just go home to cook.” 

“You made  _ bistro _ steak.” 

“Uh,” she blinked, confused and blushing when she realized he was staring at her. “Yeah?” 

“The way Scott talks it’s like your diet consisted of takeout.” she snorted and picked her backpack up. 

  
“No,  _ his _ diet consists of takeout because he’s always forgetting to eat the food that I save him. I eat early ‘cause I either work late at night or pass out. I’ve gotten too used to my dad’s schedule and make sure he gets something he can eat that won’t put him at risk of another heart attack.” she frowned thoughtfully when they exited the car, “Though I’ve had to redo some of our food supply so we have more organic foods. Dad’s not noticed yet.” 

“That matters?” She thanked him when he held the door open for her. 

  
“Yeah, heightened senses include taste buds.” his grimace said it all. “Hey, George, I’ve a quick question.” George, Peter’s main nurse ever since whats-her-face stopped coming to work (ha take that you bitch), smiled at Stiles. “Your beautician here, if I set up an an appointment to get his hair cut would she use the shampoos and stuff that I bring?” 

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, “I don’t see why not, but I could always ask her? She won’t be back until Tuesday.” 

“Oh, that’s okay! I’ll be in on Monday to cut his hair, it’s getting a little long.” she stepped to the side, hefted her containers in one arm, and motioned to Jackson. “This is Jackson, he’ll be with me a couple of times.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” the two shook hands then parted when George’s computer pinged. 

“We’ll be heading off then, thank you George!” she was humming as she entered the familiar room, smiling happily at Peter - who was turned to the door as if he was expecting them. “Hey Peter, this is Jackson.” to her surprise - and utter delight - Peter pushed against her cheek and turned his head, scenting her back. “Jackson, make sure you shut the door okay?” the teen did, then - with confidence that earned him points from Stiles - ran his hand down Peter’s arm. 

  
“You’ve taught him a few things already,” Peter drawled, voice no louder than a whisper from disuse. It  _ should’ve  _ shocked Stiles - after all, he’d barely shown he was recovered to the young woman - but instead, she looked relieved. He knew she was intelligent and more observant than she was letting on. 

“Of course I did, you able to grip shit yet?” she smiled big and broad when he rose his hands and clasped them into a white-knuckled fist. “Sweet, got Bistro Steak, string beans, and some Asparagus.” she brought his table over to him, opened the containers one by one, and set the fork and knife on a napkin in front of him. He held back his moan at the smell of the meat and seasonings the same way he had when she had brought her Liver and onions. Yes, yes he was going to keep this strange girl. “Jackson just sit on the bed to eat, Derek does, it’ll help get your scent on it too.” he did so after a few more seconds of just watching her fuss around Peter, deciding that, while he didn’t really like how his eyes never left Stiles, it didn’t feel malicious. She threw a bottle of water to him, opened one for Peter, and then her own before she finally sat beside him and opened her own containers. “Hope it’s okay, you looked like a medium-rare guy.” 

“You were right,” she preened under the praise and waited until they both dug in to actually start eating, tapping against her thigh to a tune Jackson recognized. 

“Derek’s going to teach me how to fight so I’ll be able to help when it comes time to deal with Kate and Gerard.” she told him, nibbling on one of her string beans. “With the way things are currently going, I should be able to get enough evidence together for those that helped her to suffer long, horrid lives in prison.” 

“I like the idea of them suffering,” Peter agreed viciously, giving them a glance at the crazy that was stagnant in his mind. 

“I thought you might, especially when pictures of them suddenly appeared in my backpack.” his nonchalant expression brought a wry grin to her lips. “Anyway, shampoo, I researched it and this-” she pulled out a giant 48oz bottle of Dove Men and Care, Charcoal shampoo. “Has gotten the best reviews, I figured the scent wouldn’t be too overpowering either.” 

“I use it,” Jackson admitted, nodding along with her logic. “It's like a gel but works better than most of the shampoos I’ve tried.” 

“Why?” Stiles turned her full attention to Peter, aware that he was both angry and disappointed at his anger. 

“Because we’re pack,” his jaw grit again, sea blue eyes flashing ruby red. To Jackson’s credit he did not jump though he did falter with his next bite. 

“Again, why?” Stiles stared at him with a confused set to her brow, though she didn’t smell of fear or anything else - which impressed and annoyed him. 

“Because,” she started slowly, “you got butt fucked with a cactus and I’m a vindictive little shit.” she shrugged and handed him his other bottle of water. “You needed a pack, and I wanted one. I’m trying to prove that I’m useful, but if you ultimately decide I’m not then...” she let it hang there, let him decide what the standards would be. 

  
“Butt fucked,” he drawled instead, grinning partially. “with a cactus?” his little human was more than useful, and not just for the food she cooked or the way she seemed to be meant for Pack life. Stiles noted faintly that his brows were expressive, must be a Hale trait. 

  
“Yes, I would’ve said that the cactus had hot sauce or something on it, but I figured it was expressive enough.” she shrugged and rubbed briefly at her eyes, clearing away some of the foundation she had applied there to show  _ how _ bruised her eyes were. 

“You’re still not sleeping.” it was said in concern with shaky hands that brushed more of the foundation off, frown deepening the blacker her eyes got. 

  
“Uh yeah, kinda had a good distraction past couple nights.” she grinned, leaned her head into his hand, and put a kiss on his wrist. “Anyway, this is Jackson Whittemore, Scott’s honestly a sucky choice for a Beta but I guess you didn’t have much control at the time and couldn’t afford to be choosy.” Yes, she was much more observant and intelligent than she let out, had good gut instincts too. He had nearly broke his facade when she had correctly assumed what had happened to Laura, then when she had told him she had evidence of Kate’s transgressions. He nearly growled for his nephew when she said Kate was a rapist, then had to stop his subvocal whine when he had started panicking. Honestly, he had almost jumped the poor girl when she had calmed Derek down with a mantra he was going to use for their pack. 

“Jackson is a better choice?” he could already tell he would be, the entire time he had remained quiet but he was watching the two of them like a hawk, willing to protect Stiles from him, smelling of expensive cologne and surprise.

“Yes,” she admitted with a solemn nod, flattering the young man. “Scott sees the world in back and white still, is still too innocent. Jackson doesn’t and isn’t,” she smiled broadly at him, relaxing when he didn’t seem all that upset or insulted. “I think,” she continued when she turned back to Peter, “he’ll be an excellent Beta once he gets used to pack life, he’s protective and would be a good Second or Left Hand.” she frowned and turned her attention to Jackson once more. “Uh, Seconds are those that act as Alpha when the Alpha isn’t present and is next in line to  _ be _ Alpha. It’s hard to find a good Second because once someone gets a taste of that Alpha power they crave it. You like being in charge  _ and _ in the spotlight, but you don’t like  _ always _ being in the spotlight.” her correct observation was unsettling almost, “Left Hand’s are pack enforcers. You dish out the punishments to the other Beta’s, act as security.” she fidgeted, “you’d also be responsible for dealing with threats, and that would mean sometimes killing people.” 

“Okay.” He shrugged, drawing a smirk from the both of them. 

“The only problem we’ll really have is recruiting.”  _ Now _ Peter’s brows were back in his hairline, curious how  _ that _ was their only problem. “After Kate’s dickery, the werewolves in Beacon Hills split. Some went to Satomi’s pack, the rest split between Kali and Deucalion, the smart ones got out of Cali.” She got up to pull a hardcover book from her bag, frowning at it in sorrow and anger. “Deucalion went mad when he lost his eyesight, Deaton’s book says that he just went about massacring all his pack, but I don’t think that’s what happened. Deucalion had just survived Gerard’s attack against his peace talks, had a few members of  _ his _ pack killed,  _ and _ lost his eyesight. I think his Beta or one of his command attacked him, seeing him as weak since his eyesight was gone, probably his second. I believe he killed him in self defense, and then his pack after being systematically challenged.  _ Then _ he went mad.

He recruited Kali, and Ennis after having them kill their own packs.” her hand immediately clasped into his when he hissed, his rage making his eyes stay alpha red. “Kali is an expert fighter, Ennis is fiercely loyal and protective - I don’t see  _ how _ considering he betrayed his own pack, and he, at some point, got two twins who can merge together. He’s recruiting  _ special _ people, Peter, and what’s more special that two Hales, one who has come back from the dead?” 

“It,” he growled out, “won’t,” Jackson was frozen on the bed but Stiles,  _ his Stiles _ , was staring at him as trusting as a pack member should be. “happen.” 

“I know,” the smell of her blood hit his nose and it was then that he realized his claws were out and impaled into the flesh of her wrist - when had she put it back in his hand? “My filter is kind of nonexistent right now so I’m just spewing everything I’ve learned.” with a shake of her head she turned to Jackson - who had followed along and had finished eating - with a small, apologetic smile. “Sorry Jackson, lot to take in but it gets crazier. You sure you still want this?” 

“Yes.” he answered with finality, “David’s a lawyer so I’ve heard similar things when he tries talking about work. You’ve not lied to me yet when you had every reason to,” he shrugged and eyed the room, noting the few things of Stiles’s and the Leather jacket that rest on the back of one of the chairs, as well as a single picture of a large family that rest on the window sill. “It sounds far fetched, but I’d already assumed Scott had gotten into some weird shit ‘cause he’s a freak.” 

“Freak as in he, my brother, and I play a game that is based off of Mythological creatures of different lore.” she explained, eyes smiling even though her lips were curled into a smirk. 

“You know the bite could kill you?” at Jackson’s nod Peter decided that Stiles was almost too perfect, there was no way she could be taking to the supernatural, to the absolute  _ fuckery _ that was his life, as well as she was. “Then it’ll happen either Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“Sweet, then we can have you ‘miraculously recover’ in a week? That gives me plenty of time to set up a trap for Kate and Gerard, teach him control  _ and _ add him to the pack, as well as see if Chris knew anything about Kate’s plans.” she hummed to herself and went to the bathroom, hiding her wrist from both of them so she could wash it in the sink. “Also gives me time to give my pops a reason to reopen the case and start making arrests.” 

“After six years I doubt recovery is a possibility.” 

“Sure, if you had normal circumstances for what put you in acoma.” she came back into the room with her sleeves down, yawning partially. “Your record has many notes in it about speculations as to what kept you in acoma, most of them think it was emotional trauma since your brain remained active and reacted to certain stimuli even if  _ you _ didn’t.” she shrugged, “it’s not uncommon, thanks to a few ‘were’s in the past having been sent to the hospital over the decades and having ‘miracle’ recoveries, pretty sure there were a few druids and the like too.” 

“We’ll talk about it more later,” he finalized, fingers twitching with the desire to hold her wrist again, to staunch the blood he could smell coming through the toilet paper she’d wound around her wrist. “You’re both graduating this year?” they both nodded, “what are your plans after?”

“I make a living hacking and translating articles from English to Polish, Portuguese, and vice versa.” Stiles admitted with a nonchalant shrug, “Thought about becoming a Deputy so I could work at the office with Pops but I haven’t really settled on anything yet.” 

“I’ve money, never needed to work and don’t want to.” Peter understood that, he was the same way, he also remembered Stiles telling him and Derek about the languages she was fluent in. “College was a thought for a while, now I’m not so sure.” Stiles watched them talk after that, smiling that they had found a common ground and seemed to relax in the presence of the other the longer they talked. Every now and then she added her own little tidbits of information into their conversation but ultimately took to watching the two and trying to figure out a plan for how she was going to deal with Kate and get her dad to open the case back up. 

She had shocked Jackson and Peter both when she kissed Peter on his forehead before they left, humming to herself happily. The drive back to the school was one that had Jackson wondering just  _ when _ Stiles had become someone he felt concern for - honestly, he didn’t think she’d be able to make it back home on her bike with how she was yawning. 

He didn’t really need to worry about it since a familiar Jeep was still in the school parking lot beside her bike with a fidgety teen leaning against it. 

“Oh great,” she groaned and threw her head back, glaring at the roof of his car. “I can distract him so you can speed off?” he rolled his eyes at her and pulled up on the other side of her bike then, with a confidence that Stiles was getting to associate with Jackson, stepped out of his car and leaned against the side of it, smirking at Scott. 

“She’s fine, put your glowing eyes away.” Scott did so with a panicked moan to Stiles - “Drive her home, she’s too tired to get there safely.”

“Thank you, Jackson. I’ll see you monday.” the two shared a quick, genuine smile before she was yanking Scott into the drivers seat so she could climb into the back. He honestly didn’t know what would happen between them on monday - especially not with Lydia being how she was - but he found that he was actually looking forward to it. 

.

“You’ve got Gym third period right?” Stiles was surprised when Jackson had approached her casually in the middle of the hallway, meeting her at her locker. “Good, third period every day we’ll start with your weight lifting, I’ll talk to Mr. Adkins and get permission. Third period is my free period, I’ll be joining you today to see how much muscle you’ve got currently and what your stamina is.” the two made their way to English - first period - unaware of the looks and gossip that started around them as they did. 

“Okay, but I’m gonna warn you, in the water I’m like a fucking fish so don’t think the two are completely similar.” he snorted at the imagery because that seemed like something that would be totally possible with her. Danny greeted the two with a small grin, looking both nervous and constipated. “I’m not fucking him,” she reassured him, laughing when he blushed and smiled in apology. “Don’t worry ‘bout it man, it’s why I like you.” the two boys watched as she walked into the classroom and loudly proclaimed how Becky was in her seat and needed to move her preppy little bitch ass out of it. 

Come third period Jackson got to actually see what she meant by her being a fish in the water. At first glance Stiles gave the impression that she wasn’t strong, that she was weak and slow compared to other girls in her class. Now? Now she was gliding through the water as if she were skipping off the surface of it, fair skin like a statement against the blue school one piece with a speed that far surpassed her fellow classmates.

“Okay,” he mused once she finished, legs dipped into the water. “Stiles is a fish, got it.” 

“Jackson!” she laughed, splashing water at him in a way that had him grinning. “Care to take a stroll?” She questioned with a very dramatic and awkward bow in the water, to which he promptly rolled his eyes at but slid into the water regardless. “So, I was thinking, on Tuesday it’s best if you're not alone overnight. I talked it over with Peter and it’s best if you stay there overnight, that way he can help you contain the changes in the morning when the bite heals. I can tell the nurses and staff that you’ll be giving care to him, that way he can get used to walking around his room. It’ll also give you two privacy for him to tell you more about the shift and what to expect.” 

“Is that necessary?” he didn’t like the idea of being in a room with him alone just yet, while he knew who Peter was he was still, ultimately, a stranger.  _ A stranger that’s about to bite you and turn you into a fucking werewolf, get over yourself. _ When did he start hearing Stiles’s voice in his head like a conscience? Ugh. “Alright,” he hadn’t even heard her reasoning, they both knew, but he was okay with staying and she had a point. 

“Hey Jackson?” he hummed as he was drawn from his thoughts, feeling the frown but unaware why he had started frowning. “Race me?” the rest of the actual school day consisted of Jackson finding what Stiles’s strong suits and weaknesses were (she was able to lift the bar on the bench press without weight on it for a couple reps, at least) and found out that she ran like the fucking wind if you gave her some music or something to listen to. 

“Still my favorite!” Coach Finstock yelled as she walked away, digging into one of the cupcakes she had made him. She was a little relieved that it was just her going to see Peter, Derek was too busy helping Scott and Stiles find the alpha that had bitten him but he’d be by early in the morning. It gave her a perfect opportunity to have tonight to set all her plans into motion. 

“Allison, hey!” the brunette smiled with uncertainty as Stiles approached her, no doubt having heard the rumors that had spread about her and Jackson. “First off,  _ not _ sleeping with Jackson. He’s training me in weight lifting and self-defense.” 

“Lydia said she saw you two kissing in his car.” Allison knew that no such thing happened when Stiles’s brows furrowed and her lip curled in disgust. 

  
“No, I was- ugh, okay, I was doing this.” Allison jumped a little with the shorter girl took her hand and pressed it against her throat, pressing her fingers into her pulse point. “When you lie your heart jumps a bit, when you tell the truth it’s steady. My heartbeat is naturally fast, like my brothers, and you can’t get a solid reading on my wrists for my pulse. Jackson  _ hates _ being lied to, he wanted to know why I wanted  _ him _ to teach me since he doesn’t exactly get along with me or Scott. Now imagine this, but  _ this- _ ” she moved almost chest to chest with Allison, mischief sparkling in her amber eyes when Allison blushed and looked around awkwardly. “- close, in a tinted window car. It probably did look like we were kissing, but no.” 

“Okay,” her blush darkened when three people walked past them, shooting them coy glances while they laughed behind their hands. 

“Told you.” Stiles admitted, then stepped away. “Are we- are we still on for the sleepover tomorrow? You’re really the only girl who’s ever given me the time of day after getting to know Lydia Martin.” 

“Of course we are,” Allison soothed, knowing all too well how  _ that _ felt. Truth was she liked Stiles a whole lot more than Lydia anyhow. Neither of them were girly girls like Lydia and, instead of spending a prolific time talking about boys and whatnot, they spent their time in her backyard, shooting her compound bow and taking turns throwing popcorn at the T.V when one of their favorite characters did something stupid. Allison was, honestly, Stiles’s best girlfriend, her  _ only _ girlfriend, and the exact same could be said for Allison about Stiles. “Kate talked Dad into taking us to the Range, he already got your dad's approval.”

“Badass! Did you convince your parents to let us have run of the kitchen?” it was Allison’s turn to give her a coy smile that spoke  _ paragraphs _ . “Fuck yes, okay. We get to shoot, we get to cook, and then we get to try and shove an entire season into a single night without getting caught.” 

“We would’ve made it last time!” she laughed, walking with her down the hallway since they were both heading towards the parking lot. “ _ You _ were the one who had to declare war upon Cersei and Joffrey at the top of your lungs.” 

“Yeah, well, just because she makes me question my sexuality and I  _ slightly _ understand her doesn’t make her immune to my vindictiveness.” Stiles sniffed, “and Joffrey is a little shit who didn’t get spanked enough.” 

“Less yelling this time, okay?” the two stopped when they saw Chris leaning against the outside of his car, waiting for Allison. 

“Girl, no offense, but your dad is totally hot.” 

“I thought it was weird hearing it from my friends' moms, but this is  _ definitely _ weirder.” Chris was attractive to Stiles, though, and it wasn’t just because of his looks either. It was his smile, the way his eyes twinkled when he was laughing, the way he could switch between moving like a predator and moving like a civilian. If he ever grew his facial hair out Stiles was in trouble, until then he was married and her best friends father… and staring at her with a frown. 

“Oh fuck did he hear me?” Allison lost it then, laughing at her best friend and the panicked expression that had settled on her face. 

“I’m flattered,” he started once they were closer, sparing a glance at his hysterical daughter “but I’m happily married.” and Stiles, poor poor Stiles, went straight to the one thing that she always defaulted to. Sarcasm. 

“So if you weren’t married I’d have a chance?” Allison was bent over with tears in her eyes now while Stiles was red in the face. “Anyway, nice to meet you, see you two tomorrow, I’m gonna go - uh, crash Roscoe into a cement truck or something.” To say she ran would be an understatement, and she was  _ definitely _ speeding away and  _ not _ thinking about the amused grin or twinkle that had settled in Chris’s moss-green eyes. Nope, definitely wasn’t. 

“Stiles!” Leighanne greeted once she was walking down the hallway to Peter’s room, “just you tonight?” 

“Yep! Will you be his aid tonight?” at her nod Stiles smiled big and wide, “Perfect. I’ll take care of him tonight so you girls don’t have to worry about him. Is there any way I could get an extra pillow, some covers, and a couple towels and washcloths? I’m gonna give him a haircut.” 

“Alright, I can bring ‘em to his room here in just a sec for you.” 

“Works for me, thank you!” Peter, unlike most days, was still in bed when she came - though it was sat up for him so he was looking out the window. “Scoot over real quick,” he did so but only after giving her a rather unimpressed once over. That, however, quickly disappeared when she began placing the food containers from her backpack onto the bedside table. When Leighanne came in with a pillow, a sheet and a cover, as well as two towels and three washcloths Stiles was in the bathroom, rinsing out his pitcher. “Thanks Leighanne! Can you close the door on your way out?” 

“If it’s not too personal,” Leighanne hesitated, leaning partially into the bathroom. “Can I ask why you’re doing all this for him? I mean - I’ve been his aide for three years now and not a single person’s visited in all that time. We’re supposed to detach ourselves,” she hedged, drawing Stiles’s smile. 

  
“But it’s hard to when you care for someone for so long. I get it. He used to babysit me, was supposed to the night of the fire but I had an allergic reaction and ended up being rushed to the hospital. He’s older than me,” she shrugged, “but I’ve always loved him. I only just got back to Beacon Hill’s and am at a suitably stable place in my life where I can provide for him.” 

“That’s so romantic.” Leighanne gushed, “some of the nurses and one of our doctors were talking and hoping that he might recover now that there are so many people visiting him and sticking around.” 

“That would be so fairytale Esque, my own little Snow White.” oh, Peter was going to get teased up and down now.

“Well, I’m certain he’s glad to have you.” That was the heart of it though, wasn’t it? That was what it always came down to for Stiles, people either like having her around and wanting her to stay, or not. More often than not it was the latter, not the former. She hoped beyond hope that it was the former for Peter and that, when their pack grew, he would want to keep her around because of who she was. 

“She’s right,” Peter murmured when she shut the door, not liking the smell of her cinnamon sorrow. “but I don’t think you staying the night is a good idea for tonight.” she shrugged and handed him a napkin, fork and knife before she set her own food up. “I’m serious, Stiles.” 

“Okay. And I'm serious when I say this;” she met his alpha red eyes with a determination that made her whiskey gold eyes glow like a betas. “I’m pack, and I’m not letting you go through another full moon alone. You won’t hurt me, and if you do then you do.” she shoved a slice of pork chop into her mouth with her brows raised in challenge. “Besides, tonight it’s me, tomorrow it’s Jackson, wednesday I’m spending the night over at Allison’s. Dad’s already reopened the case, it’s just a matter of time before he ‘finds’ evidence on those that were guilty.” she opened another bottle of water, sat now on the end of his bed with her knee brushing against his leg, “Might as well get used to me, Peter, you’re stuck with me until you break our bond and kick me to the curb.”

The silence that filled after that was loaded with emotion and tension. She was half afraid he  _ would _ kick her to the curb, he was half curious why the mere thought of doing so brought him acute pain in his head. 

“I still don’t think tonight’s a good idea.” she sighed irritably and put her fork down, glaring at him. 

“Look, skinship helps werewolves heal, especially among pack. I’m a tactile person, I may not be the most fucking attractive to the eyes but here I am.  _ Moreover, _ if you bite me then you fucking bite me and I turn or I die. I’ll be pissed about it for a while but that’s because I’ll have to teach  _ myself _ control and curb my possessive tendencies. I brought my laptop and my charger, got a spare change of clothes, some scissors, and I have every intention of trimming your hair.” her hands were twitching at her sides and her pulse had sped up, filling the room with Pine and Ozone with her anger. “Now, you can either be complacent with my plans tonight until you shift or I can jab you a few times. Your choice.” 

Despite the threat his lips were curled into a smile, sea-blue eyes hot and intense while they stayed centered on her. He had every belief that she would stab him with the scissors, especially with the way her hands were twitching. God help him, he could fall in love with the little hellion. 

“What are these so-called plans I’m being roped into?” Amber replaced the ozone and drew a groan from him at the realization of what that particular scent meant. Cinnamon was her frustration or sadness, ozone and pine her anger and fury. Amber was her lust, was her joy. 

“First, I’m going to cut your hair, then you’re gonna take a shower all by yourself.” now  _ that _ was a plan he could get behind, “Then we’re going to scroll through the internet and catch you up on information until you shift. Then I’ll go from there.” she frowned, suddenly uncertain. “I’d like to stay in there while you’re showering, just in case someone comes in the room or in case you need help. There’s a curtain you can pull, and I’ll be on my phone the whole time.”

“If I need help?” he certainly was not thinking about her helping him wash in the shower, was definitely not thinking about her naked or doing  _ other _ things. No, no he wasn’t, he was just lonely and she was the only woman who knew what he really was, he was latching onto her and was sick. 

“When’s the last time you got to wash your back, to  _ really _ wash it?” she asked him seriously, “Peter, you’re bound to have a lot of dead skin.” her fingertips ghosted over his right hand, the side with most of his burns. “Plus the scars themselves have to be sensitive, I can’t take pain like a werewolf can, but I can offer comfort and a distraction.” 

“Alright.” he relented, not having thought about any of that but flattered as hell that she was. 

“Good,” she beamed, hopping off the bed so she could move about his room like a hurricane. He watched her while he finished eating and tried not to question his luck too much. Stiles was a gift, an annoying snarky one at times but a gift nonetheless, especially with how she did everything genuinely. She  _ genuinely _ cared for someone,  _ genuinely _ scolded them and considered their options. She had guessed what had happened instead of thinking that he had killed Laura outright, had put together that Gerard  _ and _ Kate were back in town and had lured Laura and Derek back to Beacon Hills, no doubt to finish the job. 

What's more is that she had the potential to be a druid and clearly wasn’t  _ just _ a human. She had been able to extend a pack bond with him on their first meeting, had been able to bring a clarity between him and his animal side when it came to her. He only hoped it would save her tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter was glad she didn’t smell aroused when he found his arms aching after trying to scrub for so long, detesting just  _ how much  _ dead skin was coming off of him and had asked her help. Sure, his back was to her, but he was completely naked and it was a full moon and he would’ve had a hard time stopping himself if she smelled even  _ slightly _ aroused. Instead she was rubbing the soap and washcloth into his back with a firmness he appreciated, especially when he could feel the warmth of her through the washcloth. 

She didn’t say anything the few times he moaned - both his hands were gripping the rail so tight she was worried he might warp it - and instead focused on making sure she got him soapy and clean enough. 

“Hey Peter, I’m gonna do your back one more time okay?” he acquiesced with a nod of his head, forehead pressed tight against the tile of the open shower. When the lukewarm water from the showerhead sprayed down his back he found himself focusing on the way her hand was pressed gently against his scarred flesh, calming the anger and fear that had begun to settle in his mind and heart once again. 

Honestly… her humming was helping, just the reassurance that she was there, that  _ pack _ was there, was keeping him and his animal calm, was keeping them in agreement that they didn’t want pack hurt, that pack was caring for them and being protected by him in return. 

“Peter?” he hummed and opened his eyes, unaware that he had even closed them to begin with. “Sit down, you’re falling asleep.” he did without thinking much about it, not until she was tilting the showerhead so it would spray against the wall and she was right in front of him, washing his arm and enrapturing him in the same breath. 

She had put her beautiful hair up in a bun that looked tight and painful in some areas, and had stripped to her T-Shirt, shoes kicked off so they didn’t get soaked by the floor or water. Her tights, too, had been chucked somewhere, leaving her in just her shorts and exposing her long, creamy legs to his view. 

“Kay, head up.” the water was running over his scarred flesh once he tipped his chin up, water cooler than earlier and keeping the usual horror he experienced from too hot water. “Back down.” then her fingers were curling through his hair - shorter now that she had cut it, back to feeling good against his head and not like he was a hobo - and rubbing the shampoo in. It also meant his forehead was practically in the valley of her breasts and she was in between his legs, focused entirely on making sure that she took care of him to think of anything else. 

His hands gripping her waist and pulling her closer so he could bury his face against her chest stopped her movements, then a soapy hand was at his back once he shivered. His tears were hot against the fabric of her shirt. 

She held him, rubbing her fingers against the back of his neck and his scalp, glad he was finally letting himself go with her. They didn’t say anything when his tears finally subsided, nor when she handed him one towel to do his front while she focused on his back and hair. He didn’t question how she knew what size of sweatpants to get him, nor the T-shirt, or even how she had managed to get the smell of the store out of them so they smelled like her - and now like him. Honestly, he was overcome with relief of her being there, of getting to walk and be himself, to shower and get his haircut, wearing something  _ other _ than the blasted hospital gowns. He barely recognized that she had started the shower water back up in the bathroom, didn’t register that she had left the bathroom door open until she was walking back out, towel drying her hair.

“Okay, scoot over.” she was fresh out of the shower after giving herself a quick scrub, dressed in fuzzy sleeping pants and a dark red tank top that looked a size big on her. “Sweet, so I pulled up a few tabs already of things you might be interested in. This window is for news and important things that’ve happened over the years since you’ve been here. This window has shows that I think you should watch because they’re fucking important, and  _ this _ window is realtors in different areas. I got a guy who can make you a fake I.D until we find someone who can make you legit identification papers.” after a moment of debate he went for the news window, arm resting around her shoulders so she could sink into him and fit on the twin-sized mattress comfortably. 

If it also soothed he and his animal then that was his business. 

She, at the very least, didn’t seem to dislike it, especially when he sat the bed up and didn’t jerk away when her leg curled over his. Stiles had said that she was a tactile person, it was moments like these that he was most grateful for that.

An hour later he closed out all the windows and took pity on his human by going to the window with the shows she wanted him to watch. Out of the six shows - two of which he knew personally and one which he heard the nurses and aides talk about frequently - he decided upon Battle Star Galactica, mainly because she practically dumped vanilla on him whenever he read the synopsis of it. 

Hours later he was a season in and Stiles was asleep against his chest, giving him the perfect opportunity to just think on what his life had become. Mieczyslaw was salvation in the hell he had been submerged in, regardless of her age. She was beautiful, sincere, vindictive and witty as hell. He could appreciate her humor, the way she was always finding an angle, and how she cared instantly and deeply and  _ genuinely _ . 

He really could fall in love with the little hellion.

Unknown to him it was a thought Stiles had echoing around her head most of the next day after departing from him. So much so that she had to be brought out of her thoughts.

“-iles, tiles, Stiles!”

“Hm? Oh, sorry.” Stiles shook her head to clear her thoughts like an Etch N Sketch and focused her attention back on the Argents as they all sat around the dinner table, and definitely  _ not _ the memory of waking up in Peter Hale’s arms and how  _ right _ it felt. “I - family dinners are something I don’t get to do often so I was just kinda, watching you guys.” 

“Why not?” Kate asked between a bite of chicken, blinking in shock at the scolding ‘ _ Kate’ _ from Chris.

“Mom died when I was ten,” Stiles explained with a shrug, now looking at her plate because she hated seeing pity when she told people that. “Dad works a lot of double shifts and I haven't been able to see Scott without one of us being drop-dead tired.” with a settling exhale she plastered her smile on her lips and looked back up at everyone, ignoring their looks of pity and understanding. “Anyhow, ya’ll were as cute as peaches so ignore all that dramatic story time.” 

“Sorry, kid.” and Kate truly  _ did _ sound apologetic, surprisingly. Then she cleared her throat and had Stiles really grinning, “So, got any boyfriends or boy toys?”

“Nah, don’t like boys.” she blushed dark red when Victoria choked on her bite and Chris started coughing after inhaling his drink. “Not like that! Holy shit, I mean crap, _fuck_.” she was mumbling at the end, glaring darkly at Allison’s shaking form and the way she was hiding her mouth behind her napkin. “I’m into older guys, don’t like people my age.” Kate was practically beaming at her from across the table, “I like the idea of someone who can take care of me and doesn’t  _ need _ me to take care of them, that way we can be independent together?” 

“That’s a mature outlook,” Victoria mused, eyes saying something Stiles was used to seeing from other people. They thought she didn’t know what she was talking about, that she was trying to play at being mature. Well, fuck you too lady. 

“Stiles speaks 4 languages fluently, mom.” Stiles loved Allison, yes she did, especially when she was coming to her defense and surprising everyone in the room. “Archiac latin, Portuguese, English, and Polish.” 

“That’s a lot of languages for someone so young.” Kate added, smiling at Stiles in a way that made her toes curl in her shoes. It was a look that seemed as if she wanted to test her, a look that promised some kind of future plans that were possibly not good. 

“Grandpa was Polish, Grandma was Portuguese. The Archaic Latin was so I could have an easier time in English and Science.” She pouted dramatically and looked to Allison with the best puppy dog eyes she could do. “I’m  _ really _ interested in learning French, but someone won’t teach me and I’ve kind of been banned from the Library so I can’t get any French to English dictionaries and French books.” 

“We have a few you can borrow.” Chris interrupted, brow raised at her gasp of delight. “You’ll have to return them in the same condition you got them.” 

“Done! Oh but I’ll have to pace myself this time.” with a very put upon sigh at their curious expressions she decided that telling them the truth couldn’t hurt. “I learned Portuguese in a month? Stayed up for a week at a time learning it, rest for days in between, and then stayed up for another week to go over what I knew and learn some more.” she scratched the back of her neck, unknowingly flashing the scabbed over claw pricks on her wrist and the three sets of gazes that went directly to it. “I can’t keep staying up for weeks at a time now that I’m weight lifting and learning self defense though,” and that sucked because she really wanted to be fluent in french. She could add so many more translation jobs to her resume than what she already had. 

“What’re you learning self defense for?” it was Chris again, but this time he had a heat to his gaze that made her a little uncomfortable. 

  
“Because I’m about to graduate highschool a year earlier than the rest of the people my age and this world is full of sickos who will take advantage of teenagers, let alone a girl on her own?” okay, maybe that was a little too close to Kate’s past transgressions. “Dad’s the Sheriff, not everyone likes him. Can’t keep a gun on me so I want to learn another way to kick someone’s ass.” she flinched, “Er, butt.” 

“Who’s teaching you?” Kate again, Stiles didn’t like that she was so interested in her all of a sudden. 

“Jackson, he’s teaching me how to weight lift too.” the way Kate grinned voiced her question before it even got past her lips. “Yes, he’s Lydia’s boyfriend, no I’m not interested in him. Like I said, I’m into older guys.” 

“How do you know that you’re into older guys?” it was like a fucking ping pong battle between her and Kate and the air had, at some point, become tense. 

“Have you ever shoved a cactus up your ass?” Kate  _ liked _ Stiles, she was just vicious enough and just smart enough to be entertaining and a possible apprentice. “No? How do you know you don’t like it?” 

“Alright you two,” Victoria interrupted, stopping the stare down that was happening between the two. “Dear, what happened to your wrist?” 

“Neighbor’s got a cat, she’s not the nicest thing in the world but because I can’t have pets of my own I’m slowly trying to win her to my side. It's clearly not working, but I'll win her over eventually."

“Are you okay?” Allison asked in concern, not having noticed. 

“Hm? Oh yeah, I’m used to getting hurt somehow. If it’s not my own clumsiness it’s something else. Gym is pretty much turning into my free period after the office finally takes my transcript into account, and I’ll be spending that either in the pool or doing something else.” with a smirk she downed the last bit of her tea and then sat back at the table. “Er, can I be excused? That’s what I ask, right?” 

“It is,” Victoria confirmed with a laugh, “and you can.” it was said for both Allison and Stiles and they both took advantage of it, rushing in scraping and rinsing their plates off before hastily depositing them in the dishwasher before rushing up the steps and into her room, giggling all the while. They spent the night relaxing, cursing out the T.V, gushing over how cute certain characters were ( _ It totally makes sense now, you’ve had  _ **_the_ ** _ biggest crush on the Hound this entire time _ ) and teasing one another until near midnight. 

“Okay, gonna James Bond it to the bathroom.” the only reply she got was an eye roll and a pillow thrown at her - which was quickly vaulted back and hit her mark dead-on if the squeal from Allison was anything to go by. She was  _ not _ expecting Chris to be waiting for her in the hallway when she left the bathroom with a stern, detached expression that promised her trouble. “Uh, hi?”

“Come with me for a moment.” he turned without waiting for an answer - though he wouldn’t wait for one, especially not when he  _ knew _ she’d follow. 

“Uh, look, if this is about me cussing, I’m sorry. It’s a habit-” she fidgeted on her feet when he closed the door behind her, showing her a very serious Victoria and an amused Kate. “Okay, not about the cussing then?” 

“You know about the supernatural,” Chris confirmed as he took his spot behind his desk, drawing his sister's amused eye roll. 

  
“I mean yeah? Doesn’t everyone? Werewolves, Vampires, Fae folk? Abominable snowman?” sass and snark thank you for being quick friends, it was just the right thing to say because Chris looked uncertain now. Victoria was the only one still staring at her with a frown, as if she could see through what Stiles was doing - or just didn’t care. 

“No,” Chris tried again, “You  _ know _ about the supernatural.” Stiles didn’t even have to act when her face scrunched up in confusion. 

“I guess? Scott and I all play this MMO based off of Mythological creatures.” she flinched out of habit when Victoria stabbed a letter opener into a stack of post its on Chris’s desk. Strangely enough, it was  _ Kate _ who came to her defense. 

“I told you, now you’re going to  _ have _ to explain. Maybe we can even recruit her, it’s been a while since I've had an apprentice." and that was a whole terrible fucking idea right there.

“Uhm, no offense, but I’m not really all that into gun sales. I’ve also got school in the morning, so I’ll just be going back to Allison now and pretend that this little… meeting, thing? Didn’t happen.” if only it were that easy. 

“Not so fast,” it was Victoria that time, stopping Stiles fast in her retreat. 

“Tell us what you know, and be serious about it. You’re a smart girl.” and that really was the point of it all, wasn’t it? People like her were pushy as hell for information that they didn’t deserve or earn, this was mildly threatening and if she only knew about Scott then she would probably be on her way to a panic attack. As it was she was just pissed off. 

  
“Why?” it made her sick that Kate was smiling at her and annoyed her that Chris was looking at her in indecision. “Why should I tell  _ any of you  _ a damned thing? I’m not friends with Allison because she’s an Argent, I’m friends with her because she decided to give me the time of day even after Lydia told her not to. Frankly, I don’t owe you a damned thing  _ let alone _ an explanation. I’m not putting her life in danger  _ because _ she’s my friend.” 

“So you lied to us just then?” Chris’ tone was actually restrained, as if he couldn’t decide if he was angry or understanding. 

  
“No, I told you the truth. Media has portrayed the supernatural to the point where it’s a modern wish for most people and a curse for others. Yes, I  _ kind of _ know the supernatural because of the MMO my friends and I play.” she was blushing and angry but she couldn’t help it, Victoria was glaring at her as if she were a bug and it ate at her.  _ Mom used to look at me like that _ . “I’ve not lied, and frankly? Fuck you,” ah, there was Chris’s decision. Anger. “I don’t ask why you have Armor-piercing shells when your Firearm license is only a grade 6.” he jerked a bit at that, Kate grinned. “I didn’t ask why you have mafia type gang members scoping out my house when you found out I was friends with Allison, and I certainly didn’t remark about how fucking rude it is that you’re harassing me while I stay at your house.” 

All valid points that were delivered with the intent to harm. Kate liked the young woman, she liked how observant she was and how vindictive she could be, she especially liked the way she seemed to put Chris on edge. What was more is that this girl really meant it when she said she was friends with Allison because they suited together well and not because of her family. She really meant it when she said she hadn’t lied - and she hadn’t, this woman was a master of half-truths and Kate was fairly certain she could get away with lying to a werewolf if she put her to the test. Yes, Kate liked Stiles.

“I don’t want you back in this house.” Victoria decided, sneering at her. 

“Then you should tell your daughter why, because I’ll tell her the whole truth.” Stiles crossed her arms and regarded her with twinkling amber eyes. “I’ve nothing to hide from her, you do.” 

“Blackmailing us, is that really wise considering all we know?” Chris’s hand went straight to the drawer where his gun was when Stiles stepped forward, hands going straight to her sides. 

“Threatening to hurt innocents, Mrs. Argent? Thinking that you can justify it by ‘I’m protecting my loved ones’ and it’ll be okay?” oh, Stiles was pissed, this uppity bitch did  _ not _ just threaten her  _ again _ . “It’s not blackmail, you can do as you like but I will not lie to Allison. I haven’t lied to her since we started talking, knowledge is power, Mrs. Argent. Frankly you’re giving those that hate your family a very easy, very important bit of prey who doesn’t know shit about their world. There is no age limit to how young some people are willing to murder or torture. You wouldn’t know, but I’ve saved your daughter's life  _ twice _ from a species of people she knows  _ nothing _ about.” With that - because she would look at Kate if she were still facing her and that would be giving too much away too soon - she turned toward the door. “I’m leaving, I’ll Tell Allison something came up and I can’t stay.” and with that she not-so-gently shut the door to the office, teeth grinding together to try and curb her anger. 

“Ali, I’m gonna head home, okay? I got a ride but I’ll see you at school.” the sleepy brunette pouted but nodded her head, mumbling that she would see her tomorrow and hoped everything was okay. 

**_Stiles:_ **

Hey, you awake?

She didn’t have to wait long for a reply, thank god, she was almost done packing. 

**_Jackson:_ **

Yah, wasup?

**_Stiles:_ **

Can you pick me up at Allisons? Her dad drove us and I need to get out of here

**_Jackson:_ **

B there in 10

Thank fuck for him, she could still faintly hear them arguing in the study when she went down the steps and could easily excuse the glare she centered on Kate - who was waiting for her by the door - for what had happened earlier. 

  
“I come in peace,” the USB in her hand reflected the low light of the ceiling, her smile was pure poison. “I like you, I don’t think anyone has told Chris or Victoria to go fuck themselves in a while, it was nice. This is... a test, and an olive branch,” her hands curled into fists when Kate’s eyes sparkled with glee at her, “consider this an apology from me and a thank you, I think Allison needs to know the truth too.” When Stiles still didn’t reach out to take it the blonde dropped it in her backpack and opened the door for her. “Need a ride?”

“No,” and with that she marched out of the house, praying to god that the approaching headlights were Jackson and nearly weeping in relief when it was. 

“Holy shit you’re furious,” Jackson murmured, face scrunched up in pain. “Fucking cinnamon? Ugh, what happened, you okay?” she would thank him later for driving away while he asked that, right now she was too pissed off to actually think coherently. 

“You need to be careful, Jackson, I’m sorry, fuck-” she was not going to start crying in his passenger seat as he drove her  _ somewhere _ . It was too bad she cried when she as furious. “They know I know about the supernatural but they don’t know about any of you. Can you drop me off at Deaton’s vet clinic? I won’t be in school tomorrow ‘cause I’m gonna spend the day learning from Deaton. I’ll still go to Peter later in the day-”

“Stiles, slow down!” Jackson interrupted, giving her enough time to realize she had started to run out of breath and was close to passing out. “Look, you wouldn’t put me in danger on purpose, you don’t seem like the type, so calm the fuck down.” he threw the car into Park in the nearly empty parking lot to the gas station. “I’ll take you to Deaton’s, but not dressed like that. Whatever you want to learn from him can wait until third period and  _ we _ can go, that way we can make it back on time. If you don’t appear in school because of them after this they’ll  _ know  _ you know someone supernatural. Now, Danny and I are hanging out so I’m going to take you to my house where you can chill the fuck out.” she was quiet for a few moments before muttering a pathetic -

“You’re only bringing me to your house because it’s impossible to stay mad around Danny.” he flashed his best lady killer smile as he started his car, knowing that she was calming down slowly but surely. Stiles, he realized, wasn’t just a tactile person because she was touch starved, she was a tactile person because it healed her like it healed a werewolf. 

Danny, bless him, was only momentarily shocked by her appearance before he offered her a drink and told her she looked like shit. 

“Danny, man, gimme a hug.” and if she decided then that Danny gave the second-best hugs in the world, well, that was between her and her thoughts. “What’re we playing?” 

That next day they rode into school together with Stiles and Danny comparing math notes in a frenzy, having forgotten to do their homework in favor of kicking one another's ass at Mortal Kombat. 

“Ugh, it’s your fault!  _ No one _ should be able to use Kitana that good!” Danny threw an arm around her shoulders companionably, grinning all the while they walked down the hallways to their lockers. “Really, if I get picked out to answer any questions today, I’m throwing  _ you _ under the bus!” 

“No you won’t, you love me too much.” and damn him he was right. That didn’t stop her from throwing a particularly nasty glare to him when she  _ was _ called on by the teacher and had to find the imaginary number. Apparently writing down the i and saying ‘Found it’ was not as humorous to him as it was to everyone else. 

At least she didn’t get a detention. That would’ve sucked hella. 

“Alright, strap in. Coach thinks we’re going to get an idea of how much you can lift at the local gym.” Jackson felt the itch that had been just under his skin ease when Stiles slid her hand down his arm, that he could smell her sandalwood and vanilla scent and it was a  _ relief _ compared to the perfumes and makeup smells Lydia wore that he had to suffer through. 

  
He especially liked that she didn’t seem to want anything from him and instead wanted to be there  _ for  _ him. Sure, she had originally wanted him as part of the pack to help Peter heal, but now that he was he could smell when someone was feeling malicious or guilty. Stiles was never like that, she never skirted around what she thought, never lied to  _ him _ \- though he had caught her lying, mainly to Scott (who couldn’t tell that she was lying, ha fuck you McCall) - and seemed to always try to do what was best for others. She wasn’t purely good though, he’d heard her when she threatened to shred all of Lydia’s designer handbags if she ever tried to tell her what to do again. 

More importantly was that she took care of Allison the same way he took care of Danny, especially when she correctly guessed why Allison had been held back a year and was promptly invited to her birthday party. He thought she would deny it but it was Allison asking, of course she didn’t. 

“You’re busy, I know, can I just ask you one question?” Deaton looked down at the dog that was laying on his table, then to the way Jackson kept within arms reach of her and gave a short nod. “Okay, rumored Wolfsbane, not a rumor?” 

“No, not a rumor, and there are different strands. Why?” Stiles began pacing and handed the druid the books he had let her borrow, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. 

  
“Kate is scouting me to be an apprentice Hunter and I told them to fuck off and then was kicked out of their house. If you have any books on Wolfsbane or other poisons and their antidotes could I borrow it? I haven’t exactly been asking I know, but I’m not going to risk it when it comes to my pack, not like this. Not when she knows of at least  _ one _ werewolf in Beacon Hills.” he could smell her sincerity and her fear for what Kate could do to their pack.  _ Their _ pack, she was willing to  _ ask _ to do something so it would be formal, so she’d get the full information, for those she loved. For their pack. He didn’t ever think he’d get sick of saying or thinking that.

“Here,” Deaton returned, handing her three books and one smaller journal. “This holds all my notes on the various forms of Lichen and wolfsbane I’ve studied, as well as the antidote and ways to counteract and recognize each strain.” she took the journal with a small smile and caught the druid off guard by hugging him in relief. 

“Thank you, Deaton,  _ thank you _ .” when they were back in his car she put her hair up - filling his car quickly with her scent - and focused her attention on him with a small, uncertain smile. “Can you drop me off at my house? If you’re not doing anything today I’d like you and Derek to meet. Uh, also, Derek doesn’t know that Peter’s able to talk and move just yet, so he’ll be a bit surprised at that and I think it’s best if the two of us are there for him.” 

  
“What do I tell the teachers?” her smile was disarming, especially with the way it made her eyes glitter like jewels. 

“I’ve only English after this, I’ll call so you won’t have to worry about it.” he was so used to her taking his hand to check her pulse that he didn’t resist when she grabbed it and placed a kiss on the back of his palm. “I’m going to cook and study this while I’m home, I’ll be heading to Peter’s for last period so I can start setting everything up. He’s supposed to start getting better today or tomorrow.” a tinge of cinnamon as she shifted in her seat, suddenly uncertain about something. “Uh, about Danny. If you want him to be a part of the pack he doesn’t have to take the bite, humans are important to pack structures. Peter and I talked about it already and we’re leaving the choice up to you.”

“You’re willing - something as important as letting this secret out?” they were in her driveway but Jackson couldn’t help but to squeeze her hand, desperate to know if she truly trusted him with something as important as this. His face was definitely composed but he wasn’t on the inside, this was… this was something else, this was something for  _ him _ , something that she and Peter - his Alpha - was willing to give him, to let him have. 

“You’re Pack, Jackson, more importantly, Danny is your friend and is someone you care about.” she gave his hand a squeeze and unbuckled her seatbelt, ignoring the way his eyes were glistening so he didn’t feel awkward or uneasy. “If I don’t see you later, I’ll see you tomorrow.” she knew that he would be joining her to visit Peter the moment he had pulled out of her driveway, knew that their little pack felt more like home than she had thought possible - especially when she really did love her father with her whole being. 

She almost ruined the Banana pudding three times after getting caught up in her reading, then bought the few supplies she’d need off of EBAY and AMAZON. By the time it was time to head over to Peter’s nursing home Derek was pulling into her driveway, shifting eagerly and settling the moment she grabbed his neck and pressed their foreheads together, giddy with her new knowledge. 

“You’re in a good mood,” he mused, watching her move about the Stilinski home and hand him a large, cooled container. 

“Yeah, I’ve just got this feeling like today’s gonna be a great day.” they sat the containers in his backseat and piled in, hair still up against her head but looking tangled and ragged. He didn’t actually mind when she sang with the radio, terribly out of tune but with such joy and energy that it made up for it. He had been thinking about returning to New York (okay so it was a minuscule thought that he focused on for all of three seconds) but found that he rather liked it here in Beacon Hills. It had been shitty at first, but now he had a pack, he had people he cared about ( _ how _ the little minx that was Stiles Stilinski managed  _ that _ he’d never know), and people who cared about him. It was the closest thing to a pack he’d ever felt since his family went up in flames. 

“Stiles!” Leighanne greeted her the moment she walked through the double doors, tears in her eyes and red-cheeked. “Its - It’s Peter-!” the container of banana pudding was shoved into her arms, backpack dropping on the floor in the sheer  _ panic _ that seized her. Had Kate found out where he was being taken care of? Had Gerard? Had they found him? Nurses and Doctors were scrambling around his room, aides that have taken care of him for years gasping with tears in their eyes as they looked in the room. 

“ _ Move _ !” there, in the middle of the room, was Peter Hale, leaning heavily against a Walker with ruddy cheeks and a faux pained expression on his face. She looked like a vision, gold eyes glittering and pink-cheeked from her fear and adrenaline. She looked awful. 

She looked perfect. 

“Peter-” and then she was stumbling towards him, relief in her every pore, steadied by an equally shocked Derek. “ _ Peter _ .” and then he was drawing her against his chest so her arms wound around his neck, pulling her close so he could be consumed by her scent. “Don’t you  _ ever _ scare me like that again.” she whimpered against his collarbone. 

His answer was to take a single step forward, now right against the walker they had set up for him, and grabbed a fistful of her hair to tilt her head back and cover her mouth with his. Stiles, his beautiful Stiles, knew what he was doing the moment their eyes met, whiskey amber melting to wheat gold with want and acceptance. 

Applause rang out, cheers and gasps of it being ‘beautiful’ filled the air, but the only thing Peter could focus on was the fact that she tasted like bananas and blueberries. She hadn’t jerked away from him and had, instead, leaned into him to deepen the kiss, stretching her calves so she could go onto her tiptoes. Peter had three reasons for kissing her, 1; She was a beautiful woman who cared for him and had changed her whole life to revolve around him. 2; He was a sucker for romanticism, and what was more dramatic than a man waking from a long coma for the woman he loves? Nothing, it made it believable, it made it  _ real _ . 3; He wanted to kiss her, and Peter always did what he wanted. It was just a bonus that she was kissing him back, that she opened up for him so sweetly until Amber coated the room.

When they parted it was so he could make the appearance of needing to lean into the walker, still very weak despite the fact they’d found him sitting up on the side of his bed - or so he wanted them to think, that was only normal. It also presented him with the opportunity to see what she looked like with kiss swollen lips. 

Flushed cheeks, glittering eyes that had a heat he wanted to explore, and pink plump lips that were begging to be claimed by his again. He didn’t hear what she said when her lips parted, only that his attention was focused entirely by her. Then by Derek, who was hugging him softly, as if uncertain his comfort would be welcome. He sank into Peter when his arms wrapped around him and held him tight, arms tightening around the man he had abandoned - his only family now. 

It took them an hour to get all the legalities refined - most of the time spent with Peter touching Stiles or holding her in some way - and by the end of the third hour Jackson showed up. He settled the moment he saw Peter sitting up with Stiles and Derek on either side of him and then further when they locked forearms with a mumbled greeting. Ten minutes later everything was wrapped up and the group of four was given their privacy to discuss and rejoice how they saw fit. 

Honestly, the moment they shut the door the air became awkward. 

“Nephew, Kate will pay for how she manipulated and used you.” Derek stiffened  _ and relaxed,  _ nervous energy, guilt, and hope warring inside him at his Uncle’s words. “It was your mother who said we should be friendlier to Hunters despite my warnings.” 

“He also knows that you wouldn’t have told her a damned thing  _ or _ given her the time of day if you knew what she was really planning.” Stiles exhaled, standing in front of the window in the room so she could watch the parking lot. “So, like I said the first time Sourwolf, Kate’s going to fucking burn for what she’s done.” it was times like these when Peter really loved her, loved how bloodthirsty she was and how protective she was. “Speaking of Kate, I’ve got to move up my plan now.” 

“Kate wants to scout Stiles to be an Apprentice,” Jackson continued, leaning against the wall closest to the door so he could hear if anyone was coming. “She thinks we can use that to lure Kate into a trap.”

“They cornered me when I was staying the night,” she began explaining once she heard Peter and Derek’s sharp inhales. “Long story short they know I know about the Supernatural. Chris had nothing to do with the fire but I’m certain that Victoria did as well. I just, I have no proof-” 

“If you believe she knew, then she knew. I trust your judgment.” the smile that earned him made him feel ten feet tall. 

“Allison doesn’t know about the supernatural at all yet,” she continued after a moment of trying to not declare some sappy, emotional shit to her Alpha who had only kissed her to make the whole situation believable. “I’m thinking of slipping Chris her journal with the page on the fire open, and somehow find a way to oust Victoria, draw Gerard out - though I’m sure that he’ll appear once Kate’s dealt with - and convince Chris to  _ not _ enact revenge on us for his sisters' gruesome demise.” 

“What,” Peter began, truly interested in how  _ she  _ wanted to deal with Kate. He knew he’d like to rip her limb from limb starting with her fingers, maybe turn her so she could be what she hated and cut her up so she’d heal over time. “do you intend for Kate?”

“Burn her alive.”  _ Oh yes _ , he could love his human. “To avoid legality issues we can burn her in her car off of the road somewhere, make it look like she wrecked.” he was a grown man who could control his sexual urges, he was not going to take Stiles in front of his pack. “More importantly I’ve been keeping digital records of everything I’ve learned so far, had to scan most of the pages from Deaton’s books and Journals, the rest are voice recordings that I’m typing up in between school and work - which I’ve been cutting back on. I’ve been progressing pretty fast through french, but the last bit is something Kate gave me,” Peter’s gaze was sharp like steel when it met hers. “She gave me a codex that looks like it’s had information put in for generations, I ran it through every software I’ve got and it’s clean, right now It's translating. She said it was a test, I'm pretty sure she intends to use whatever reaction I have to the information on the USB as an excuse to recruit me or 'deal' with me.” 

“You have the Argent family records of every supernatural being they’ve ever encountered,” Peter began with mirth dancing in his eyes. "and had it _given_ to you... as a _test_?" In all honesty, he was impressed and intimidated, here was his human who had only been in the supernatural world for a month, a _month_ , and already had a trove of information _including_ **the** Argent Bestiary? Most importantly she didn’t even seem to know what it was she had, what it was she was doing!

“Uh, yeah?” she shifted in her spot, smelling of uncertainty and nerves. “I mean, I just naturally piss people off, so - and she gave it to me because I told Chris and Victoria to fuck off? She also said she agreed that Allison should know about the supernatural?” her expression turned sour and her eyes darkened to a tempered khaki color. “She said she liked me frequently, it was insulting.” she shook herself and turned away from the window to look at their pack of four with an almost feral grin. “Anyway, Deaton gave me his journals on Wolfsbane and other poisons to werewolves, as well as the different strands and how to identify them. I ordered a bunch of supplies and I’ll be able to stock up so we’re prepared.” 

“ _ That’s _ why you wanted to go specifically to Deaton.” Jackson realized, grinning wickedly at the little imp that was Stiles Stilinski. 

“Yeah, as a Druid with the specialization of knowledge he’d have more extensive notes than a regular druid.” she sank into the chair opposite his bed and sighed, honestly exhausted.

“Okay,” Derek began, “What’s next, Alpha?” Peter stiffened on the bed but Derek didn’t smell angry, he didn’t even seem all that accusing? “The more I thought about it, the more what Stiles said made sense. Cutting ‘were’s in half is Gerard’s sign. They had to know we would come back to Beacon Hills, and I believe you put her out of her misery.” Jackson looked away to give the two privacy when he smelled the salt of Peter’s tears, not knowing that they built on his eyelashes but never fell. “So, what’s next?”


	4. Chapter 4

“Can I talk to you?” Chris eyed Stiles with uncertainty but nodded slowly anyhow, guiding her back into the house. Neither said a word until they were back in his study with the door shut. “You had people follow me home and scope out my house, you’ve had people watch me to the point where I had to start losing them for a semblance of privacy.” he didn’t seem repentant of it, in fact, he seemed a little impressed that she had found out. “I’m telling you this to justify my own need for knowledge on who I’d pissed off.” and with that she dug into her satchel and placed Kate’s journal on the desk, open to the page in question. “I’m sorry, but I can’t be an apprentice to a ruthless murderer, and quite frankly if you have any more people follow me I’ll have them arrested for stalking.” 

“You stole,” even as he said it his eyes were glued to the page, reading over what was written and looking whiter and whiter with the more he read. 

“Yes, I stole after being threatened by your wife and after being stalked by your people.” she crossed her arms but wasn’t all that threatened by Chris’s mounting anger and disbelief the more he read. “I didn’t snoop through your house, I went to your library to get the books you said I could borrow and it was sitting on the top shelf.” not a full truth but not a lie, not that Chris would be able to tell. “I stole it by not returning it once I realized what it was, then I kept it because I doubted you’d even care that she admits to burning children alive, burning people who could heal through the burns ‘until their screams ran like the best music’.” she quoted, swallowing thickly against her anger and disgust. “Your family motto is ‘We Hunt Those who Hunt Us’, it’s a shit saying because Kate’s done it three times.” 

His hand was shaking when he closed the journal, showing just how affected he was by the knowledge even if his face didn’t show it. “She wrote about how Victoria kept you away, how she knew about everything that was going to happen and was complacent. She wrote about the talk she had with your father, Gerard, and how he had sabotaged the Peace Talks with the local alphas, about how he killed his own men who had wanted peace.” 

“Why should I believe this, what proof is there that  _ Kate _ wrote this and not you?” valid questions if he were an idiot, too bad he wasn’t. 

“Aside from the fact that it’s in French, and I only just learned French, shoddy french at best?” she shrugged and closed her satchel, done with the entire shit show. “Nothing. Believe what you want, I’m just returning the books I borrowed in the same condition that I borrowed them.” she stopped at the door, gnawing on her bottom lip in indecision. “Honestly? I hope you didn’t know anything about it, about any of it, you seem like a good person who would do anything for his family.” she didn’t need to turn around to know that he was looking at her at a loss for words. Didn’t need to turn to know he was trying to rationalize everything that had been revealed and brought to light, as well as if he could trust what was happening. “You don’t have to believe me, I just want Ali to be safe.” and before he could retort that she  _ was  _ safe Stiles was gone, leaving him alone in his office. 

  
Wasn’t she? Wasn’t his daughter safe? Sure there’d been moments where he had doubted his sister’s mentality and her dedication to the code, there had been times where she had almost gone over the line and left him guessing at times, but she couldn’t have done this, right? Stiles could be trying to frame Kate, but for what purpose? And it was in Kate’s handwriting, when had the teenager been able to see her handwriting to perfectly copy it down? More importantly; if she had, what was he going to do about it?

Unfortunately this was not the only altercation she had, otherwise she probably would’ve gone about the revelation in a different way.

“Yeah, Scotty, we  _ were _ close and then you let outside opinions get to you!” she roared back, shoving the teenager away from her. “It’d  _ never _ been a problem that I was a girl and your close friend, your  _ sibling _ until Lydia fucking Martin said it was  _ strange _ how we never tried dating and  _ one _ of us had to be in love with the other. Well, jokes on you buster, I do love you,  _ like a brother _ . But you!” she shoved him again, tears falling freely now that Scott looked stunned at her outburst. “You had to go and say that it was  _ my fault _ that you’d never had a girlfriend before! And you!” she pointed at him, breaths coming in short gasps with her anger and heartbreak. “I would  _ never _ make you choose between your friends and me,  _ never _ . We haven’t seen one another in almost two months and it  _ hurts _ , Scott! We were always,  _ always _ with one another, having each others' back. Ever since I started hanging out with Jackson and Dany you’ve kept your distance from me!” 

“We’re not exactly friends, Stiles-” 

“I’ve never made you choose your friends or tell you you can’t be friends with someone before!” she interrupted, leaning heavily against the locker, unable to fully breathe. It hurt, it hurt so goddamn much that he was practically accusing her of abandoning him. She would never - and here he was looking at her like he was sorry but also like he was angry and - had she abandoned him in favor of Peter and her pack? Had she - but Scott dropped her - sure they’d been in arguments before but - and the way he looked at her -

“Stiles!” Jackson’s voice sounded through the ringing of her ears, drawing her gaze up to look at his beta gold eyes and gritted jaw. “Mieczyslaw,” he tried again, name strange on his tongue but closer than most people got, but this time succeeded when she focused champagne eyes on him. “It’s okay, it’s okay deep breaths.” he had his hand on the back of her neck and their foreheads pressed together,  _ making  _ her look at him and be covered in his scent - not that she’d be able to smell it as potent as Jackson or another ‘were but the motion was still there. “So you corner her and give her a panic attack, McCall? That your idea of making friends again?” 

“You were in social studies.” she breathed, trembling in his arms as the feeling came back to her.

“Yeah, I felt your fucking panic.” and if he could feel it then so would Derek and Peter. Fuck, he needed to call the cell phone Peter had set up for himself and tell him everything was okay, Derek too. 

  
“Why do you even care about her Jackson, huh? You never cared about her before. Are you trying to use her to get back at me for becoming Captain?” Jackson’s scoff and squeeze to the back of her neck helped her to recover the last bit of her shredded dignity. 

“You know what,” she mumbled while righting herself, “You got to choose Lydia Martin over me, got to choose your own pride over me,” Scott flinched, “I’m choosing Jackson.” she squeezed Jackson’s arm briefly and sighed in relief when he stepped to her side, beaming with smug delight that someone had said, out loud, that they chose him. It was then that she stood between them, almost as if she were shielding Jackson. “And quite frankly you don’t know a  _ damned _ thing about the Jackson I know,” she ignored Scott’s question as to how Jackson became a werewolf, ignored even when he asked her if she knew who the alpha was. The only thing she did was walk out of the boy's locker room and pull out her phone, dialing Peter’s number the moment she saw a dozen texts that had been sent to her. 

“I’m sorry, I’m fine, Scott just cornered me and grilled me, is all.” she started the moment he picked up, pacing on the track around the football field. “Can I - can I come over? I don’t know how much is too much, or if you even really want me around since you’re recovered now-” fuck her ability to always feel like she could be replaced. 

“You’re always welcome, Mieczyslaw,  _ always _ .” came Peter’s heated reply, saying her name so perfect that it made a pang of  _ want _ curl in her stomach. “Even if it is to just do Homework,” he continued, sounding slightly amused and restrained. “You don’t have to always bring food - though I won't  _ deny _ any food you bring. You don’t have to justify you being with me.” and oh, how she loved him in that moment. “Sweetheart?” it wasn’t fair how attractive he was, scars and wit and all. It wasn’t fair that everything about him pulled her in, made her  _ want _ , not when he was most likely doing it because she was pack. Not when he did these things and said these things without an idea of how they made her truly feel.

“I’ll be there in fifteen, and then you and I are going to sneak out.” she turned a thirty-minute drive to the nursing home into a sixteen and a half minute drive but it was worth it when she appeared in his doorway, breathless and high on adoration, and saw him pulling  _ her _ scarf around his neck. It was now early December and, while it very rarely ever snowed it did get quite cold, he looked every bit as good as a wrapped present. “You ready to blow this joint?” his reply was a smug grin and a disarming intensity in his eyes that was directed to her. Signing him out was an easy matter, figuring out what they would do that wouldn’t overwhelm his senses… was not.

“You’ve no idea...” he relaxed and pulled her to the sidewalk, intent on just walking and  _ not _ the temptation that she provided. When they were a good half-mile from the home he pulled her close and grinned in a smug, satisfied way that had her toes curling. “Do you trust me?” It was said in jest until he realized that he truly cared what her answer was. Trust was idiotic, trust was easily corrupted or thrown away, trust was a weakness. But… not with her. Not now, not anymore. Trust was… trust was her gentle hands rubbing into his scarred flesh, was the way she smiled at him without reservations to the faucet of emotions she felt at any point of the day. Trust was the pack she had built  _ for him _ , was her laughter in an empty room that had been occupied by silence or cold machine noises. 

Trust was her breath puffing against his chest as she slept, was her clinging to him on the full moon even when his claws extended and he tried to pull her into him. Was her rubbing her cheek against his the morning after and whispered words of placations that it didn’t really hurt, that she was okay. Trust, which had meant weakness at one point to Peter, now meant Mieczyslaw Stilinski. 

“Of course I do,” trust was the way he loved her more and more every day. She laughed when he hefted her into his arms and against his chest, chest rumbling with how close she was but wanting her closer, and then they were  _ moving _ . She couldn’t know that the speed he was moving was  _ half _ of what he should be capable of, couldn’t know that the twelve miles should’ve been near doubled, no. Stiles couldn’t have known any of that so when she clung to him and  _ laughed _ , well, he felt a million times better. She clung to him but watched as the world zipped by them, fascinated and thrilled in a way that completely erased the hurt she felt when she thought back to the interaction between her and Scott. 

“You’re fucking amazing!” she breathed when they stopped, now clutching at him with trembling fingers. He wanted to consume her, wind bitten cheeks, lips, nose and all. Mieczyslaw Stilinski was  _ not _ safe for his control, she drove him wild, she placated him when he raged, she urged him on when he demanded blood. Mieczyslaw Stilinski was nothing he had ever wanted and  _ everything  _ he had ever needed. She was outspoken, hard headed and graceless in most things. He doubted she could dance and he knew for a fact that she was  _ at least  _ as stubborn as him. 

But he could teach her how to dance, looked forward to it, actually. He loved how hard headed she was because it meant she couldn’t be taken advantage of, it meant she met him wit for wit without having to try. She met him blow for blow and demanded he  _ try _ to one up her. She leveled him with a stare, rose him up with a smile. She was annoying and brash and didn’t put her own health into account when she stayed up for days at a time and he loved her. He loved her. He didn’t even know her, but he knew he loved her. He’d been with other women in his life - he was thirty when the fire happened for fucks sakes - but he’d never met anyone like Stiles. 

“Earth to Peter.” he blinked and felt the smug, satisfied smile on his lips that only grew when he realized they were almost nose to nose. He hadn’t realized that she had hefted herself a little higher in his grip to look him in the face. “You in there Big Bad?” his brow quirked at the nickname but the delight gleaming in his eyes only built. 

“Big Bad?” he questioned, wishing he could bottle the smell of the forest, her, and  _ him _ . It was a smell of pack, of serenity and peace. It let his animal stretch inside him, pleased with the  _ packlovefamilytrust _ that Mieczyslaw presented. 

“You’re kinda rockin it with the Lex Luthor persona,” she admitted innocently, then laughed when he snapped playfully at her nose. “Hey, I know I’m good enough to eat but please refrain thankyouverymuch.” she rushed out with laughter when he sped off again, stopping so that he could sit with her cradled against him on the forest floor. Nothing else was said as they just soaked in the forest sounds and the warmth of one another. A half-hour passed, then an hour, both just soaking in the fact that they were almost free. That they were holding/being held by someone who cared for them. 

“You should’ve run from me, Mieczyslaw-” he would never again use her nickname if she always smelled of amber when he said her real name, “- especially when I hurt you.” his thumb brushed over the scratches on her side, almost whining when he could still feel the ache they presented for her. 

“Shoulda coulda woulda didn’t do shit,” she replied back just as tartly. “Peter,” she sighed when he stayed tense, adjusting herself so she was straddling him and looking him in the eyes. “My mother started getting really sick when I was nine, frontotemporal dementia. She loved us, but two months in and she no longer was  _ just _ my mother. She started getting angry, I remember the first time she snapped at me was because I was wearing my hair down. Mama said I was stealing her looks, that I was trying to replace her. Then it started getting worse, I was stealing her face, I was trying to kill her, I wanted her dead, she used to - she used to rip out her I.V’s because  _ I _ was filling her up with poison,  _ I  _ was making her forget. It was never dad, never any of the doctors or nurses, just me.” 

She did not cry with the admission, no she sagged in defeat and smelled of stale acceptance. The memory brought pain, but it also brought shame and acceptance. She clearly, on some level, believed her mothers’ accusations. “Dad wasn’t there when she stopped breathing, he wasn’t there when the doctors couldn’t bring her back. I uh, I had to watch as my mother died little by little every day for a  _ year _ until she finally just… gave up.” her gaze came back into focus with an intensity that would have felt mildly threatening were it not for her shaky hands encompassing his face. “I vowed to  _ never _ let any of my friends or loved ones suffer alone.” she hedged, uncertain for only a moment, before- “You’re stuck with me until you decide you’re tired of me, and that honestly might just kill me? Whatever though, like I said, you’re stuck with me, okay? Probably not the best choice since I’m only seventeen, a spaz on the best of days, and can argue you under the bus even if I’m wrong.” 

“Not the best choice,” he mumbled, swallowing thickly. “The  _ only _ choice, Mieczyslaw.” there was that scent again, amber and vanilla mixing and  _ leaking _ into his very being. 

“Can we-” she swallowed whatever question she had been about to ask, then groaned when he wrapped her hands in his, urging her to continue. “Can we stay like this for a bit?” he nodded and tucked his chin against her head when she laid down against his chest, bringing the realization that he could easily hide her body with his if a situation ever occured like that. “Think I’m spoiled on you, Peter.” 

“Me too, sweetheart,” he admitted as his eyes slit closed, “me too.” 

She was in love, too bad people often misunderstood things like that.

“Ali, you’ve been fidgeting and looking at me all night, what's up?” they were having a sleepover at her place for the first time for that whole year. 

“Did you kiss my dad?” the Mountain Dew she had decided to take a sip of promptly hit her nose and then slammed against the table with Stiles hacking. 

“What the fuck, Ali?” she questioned through hacks, eyes tearing up and running nose with the burn that was spreading through her throat and nasal passage. “That’s, incredibly insulting to your father.” Allison had not expected to hear that particular response. “Let’s, let’s ignore the fact that I’m seventeen, your friend, still in high school, and still live with my  _ own _ dad - who’s the Sheriff. Your father is happily married to your mom and has been with her for however long they’ve been married. I realize that I might’ve given you the idea I would be interested in something like that with your dad, but I don’t go for married men, hell I don’t go for anyone actually considering the  _ lack _ of dating in my personal life. Still that… that kinda hurts, Ali.” 

“I’m sorry,” she groaned, putting her head in her hands, “I’m sorry, I knew it sounded impossible. You’re not like that, I know you, but mom-” she groaned again. “Mom and Dad have been arguing a lot lately and when I asked she said she didn’t want me hanging around you anymore or inviting you over. I asked why and she said it was because you kissed Dad and said you wanted to kiss him more.” 

“Ali, I’m -” Ali peeked at her friend through her fingers, curious why she sounded so conflicted and pained. “I won’t lie to you.” she finalized and focused her gaze back on Ali. “It’s not my secret to tell, but I won’t lie to you, Ali.” she swallowed thickly and brought her hand up to her throat, letting her feel her pulse and trying to ignore the way Ali was looking at her. “Ask.” 

“Are my mom and dad arguing because of you?” she flinched but quickly made sure her fingers were still in the right place. 

“Partially, but not really. I took a book like your dad said I could it just,” she fumbled then sighed. “Okay, full truth, fuck this half and half bullshit. I’m going to shoot straight with you, Ali, okay?” this was one of the thousand reasons Allison liked Stiles over Lydia or any other friend she’d ever had. Stiles truly understood her, knew what her limits were and - while she sometimes pushed them - it was always for  _ her  _ benefit. “Hold this.” she hesitantly held the soda can, then completely fucking stilled when Stiles held her palm flat in front of the can. The slightly chilled can gained heat until she couldn’t hold it any longer, hissing between her teeth while she waved her hand to get rid of the sting, trying to understand  _ what just happened _ . “It’s magic, or a form of it.” Stiles offered as an explanation, then tapped the back of her hand three times chasing the sting away with soothing cold. 

“Magic, like,  _ real _ magic, that was magic.” Stiles didn’t smile or laugh and that… that actually helped? 

“The supernatural is real, Ali, werewolves, vampires, witches, and fairies.” she shifted a bit, “Argent is Silver in french, Ali, and your family is a long, long line of Werewolf Hunters dating all the way back-” 

“To La Bête de Gévaudan.” Ali finished, remembering how Kate had told her about the lore. Kate… Kate had been hinting at it! It looked like a wolf, a  _ were _ wolf. Oh  _ god _ , her dad had all those weapons, they were hunters,  _ Hunters _ , did that mean - has he killed people? Werewolves? Oh god was her mother a hunter, her aunt? Did they want  _ her  _ to be a hunter?!

“Ali,” she snapped her gaze straight to Stiles, hyperventilating but slowly gaining a hold on it. Stiles knew, Stiles knew and she was telling Ali because her parents were arguing, why were they arguing? Stiles knew, she had to know! “They’re arguing because I found Kate’s journal saying that she did something I didn’t agree with. She wanted to take me as an apprentice but I, Ali I can’t - it's hard to not say - I can’t be nice with your Aunt, Ali. I  _ can’t _ and I’m sorry to you.” and, well, this was the  _ worst _ night ever. 

“What did she do?” Ali was wrong, it got worse.

“What  _ right _ did you have to tell my daughter everything?” Chris found her the next day, arm across her chest to keep her trapped against the empty classroom wall. It wasn’t a lie to say that she was scared as fuck when he grabbed hold of her arm, eyes  _ blazing _ , and  _ threw  _ her into the classroom. 

“I told you,” she coughed out, “I wouldn’t lie to her. You’re wife sa-said that you two were arguing because I k-kissed you!” his surprise was short-lived when his anger came through. “Look, be angry, I don’t fucking care. I  _ told _ you what to expect!” 

“You’re a child and you’ve just endangered my daughter.” he hissed in her face, “I was dealing with Kate, I was  _ dealing _ with my wife, but now because you told Allison - now my  _ father  _ is coming!” 

“He’s already here,” she gasped out, suddenly feeling quite claustrophobic with him holding her against the wall, anger apparent. “He’s  _ been _ here, who else cuts werewolves in half?” 

“A rogue omega, maybe?” he ground out, removing his arm and replacing it with his hand - she noticed his fingers laid right on her pulse point. 

“Are you stupid?” she hissed, “a rogue omega overpowering and ripping an alpha in half? An alpha that just so happened to be a Hale? You’re kidding, right?” his hand tightened just a fraction at that.

“ _ Get,”  _ Jackson was in the doorway, eyes blazing orange with veins pulsing in his forehead, Danny and Scott right behind him, “ _ away from her. _ ” in the same moment he went to raise his gun at the ‘were Stiles was moving with him, blocking the gun from aiming at the teenage werewolf. 

“How about we not shoot teenagers, that’s against your code right? Only adults and only with irrefutable proof?” her pulse was still racing but now everything made a bit more sense. How she knew so much about the supernatural, how she seemed to always value the truth and tried to make sure that those she talked to were always aware of her  _ telling _ the truth. Stiles  _ knew _ the supernatural, just like he had thought, only she had known it in a boy that hung around Allison at school. 

  
Was she trying to protect Allison from him? Not likely with how she was shielding his body from the wolfsbane bullets with her own. Also not likely with the way he seemed to want to protect her from Chris. This whole thing was a mess, honestly, and he hated it but her words made sense. He hadn’t been able to contact his father ever since he had told him that he and his family were moving back to Beacon Hills, he hadn’t been able to talk to Kate either, for that matter, not until she was already on the outskirts of the city. Still, it was admirable how she went from incredulous fright to protective anger, even for a ‘were. 

“It wasn’t my place to tell Allison, but I told you that I wouldn’t lie to her if she asked me.” Stiles reminded him, backing away slowly with hands reaching backward for Jackson. “ _ Your _ wife pushed me into action, Gerard has been here, Jackson is still a teenager and his eyes are gold, not blue, and  _ none _ of this is my fault.” she clutched tight against Jackson’s hands when she reached him, refusing to let him pull her behind him even though he clearly wanted to. “We’re going to leave, and if any of your people come  _ around _ my house, I’m opening fire. You saw me at the shooting range, they  _ will _ get a bullet.” 

They all backed out of the classroom until the door was shut, then they  _ bolted _ to the boy's locker room, Jackson never once letting go of Stiles. Danny couldn’t smell her fear, couldn’t smell the acrid cinnamon of her anger. He couldn’t feel the way she trembled in his arms, or the way she was clenching and unclenching her hands into fists to try and deal with the excess energy in her system. She didn’t actually relax until they were all secure in the boy's locker room with and all in her line of sight, all equally fine and not hurt in any way. 

“Okay, Scott, I can I expla-” before she could even finish he was hugging her, holding her tight while trembles slowly went through  _ his _ body. He had just seen his sister get, what seemed like, choked against the wall, and then held  _ at gunpoint _ . He saw pain every day with his job at the vet, and then with his mother being a nurse at the hospital. This though, was a first-hand experience with someone he loved. He never, not once, thought that his  _ sister _ would be going through something like that, to where she could be the one in danger and he would have to  _ watch _ . 

No, no he and Stiles hadn’t been talking or spending as much time together as they normally did - though that was his fault- if things had gone worse, maybe he wouldn’t have ever been able to actually spend time with her again? No, no he couldn’t stand it, just the thought -

“It’s okay, I’m fine, we’re fine.” and dammit but soothing him helped ease her own fear. “Thank you, Jackson, and I’m sorry, you’re coming to my rescue a lot lately.” 

“Yeah, well, I make an excellent Prince Charming.” he sniffed, eyes rolling despite the genuine affection that  _ dared  _ endear him to her. 

“Holy shit, so you were totally telling me the truth.” Danny interrupted anything else that would be said, drawing two gazes to him even though Scott refused to stray too far away from Stiles. “So, fuck, werewolf?” Jackson nodded, attempting not to grin even though Danny looked rather flummoxed with the whole thing. “Yeah, okay, yeah, pack life, I can dig it, I mean I’m already pack with you if you think about it. It… actually explains a lot of shit I’ve seen, now that I think about it.”

“Danny, man, I love you.” Stiles mused but switched her attention back to her Scott, frowning the moment she saw his angry gaze on the floor. 

“I - I didn’t mean everything I said, I mean - no I did but, that was -” he sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to collect himself in a way Stiles had seen many, many times. “I really - I’m an idiot, and I’m sorry, Stiles. You’re my sister and I just -” he huffed and shifted on his feet, clearly awkward about doing this in front of other people. “It won’t happen again.”

“And if it does,” Jackson interrupted, “we’ll kick his ass for you.”

“ _ How _ are you a werewolf anyway?” Scott centered on Jackson, “and what do you mean but pack? Are you pack with Stiles? Stiles, who’s the alpha?” it made him angry that he had been so disconnected with her that he had clearly missed a large portion of her life. How did she know an Alpha? Was it the one who bit him? Why was Mr. Argent pulling a gun on her, on Jackson? He knew she was still visiting Derek’s Uncle - she always smelled like him - but none of that had anything to do with his girlfriend's father waving a gun around.

“Honestly? There’s so much, can I just - can I explain it to you later?” she sighed and sat heavily on the bench between the lockers. “Honestly, this is going according to plan, ish, there are just a few speed bumps we can get through.” 

“What happened just now counts as a ‘speed bump’?” Danny asked with a note of incredulity. “He pulled a  _ gun _ on you!” 

“No, he pulled a gun against Jackson and I stepped in front of it.” she corrected, grimacing when Jackson flashed his eyes at her while talking on the phone. Aw fuck, Peter was the only one he could be talking to, meaning he just heard what she had said. Oh fuck and now Jackson was coming towards her with a small smirk, oh fuck he was handing the phone to her,  _ oh fuck-  _ “ _ Heey, Big Bad, _ ” she cooed, “what’s up?”

“You stepped,” he ground out, “in front of a gun,” oh she was either in deep shit or he was having her for a go. “for a packmate. Not knowing if he would shoot you  _ anyway _ ?” 

“Yes,” she confirmed, no need to shirk around the truth or try to hold out on Peter, she didn’t even really want to. This whole dramatic affair had her exhausted.

“You  _ reckless, beautiful  _ **_idiot_ ** !” he snapped, exhaling roughly into the receiver and drawing a confused wince from her. Beautiful, he thought she was beautiful? “ _ Yes _ ,” he hissed in answer, causing her to blush because now Scott was looking at her with suspicion. Fuck, her tone had been hopeful. 

“Uh, anyway, Gerard is on his way, Danny wants to be pack, and I think we should move up telling my dad before Gerard gets here.” A diversion, a  _ clever _ diversion, good girl. 

“Alright,” he sighed, “alright. Have Jackson bring Danny when available, I assume you’re going to talk with Scott before deciding?” she loved that he knew what she intended, it spoke leaps and bounds that he knew how she was. Okay, putting that thought process aside because she should not be fawning over Peter with two werewolves near, both of which could  _ smell _ her emotions and one of which was able to tell what the slightest movement actually meant with her. 

“Yeah, should probably expect people to start following me around, and Jackson now that they know what he is.” she sighed heavily and rubbed at her face, staring heavily at the floor as she tried to arrange her thoughts. She could do this, she wasn’t a pushover and she sure as shit was  _ not _ going to let Kate  _ or _ Gerard Argent off the hook for the fuckery they were responsible for. Okay, she could do this. “Peter, how quick can you get discharged from the facility?”

“Today,” she smiled at his response, knowing for a fact that he’d love for nothing more than to leave that fucking place. 

“Alright, can you get the process started?” she looked to Jackson and Danny to see if they were coming along or not, “Jackson, Danny, and I-” she continued at their simultaneous head nod. “Are on our way. Derek’s already there?” a dull ‘Yes’ came from the background making her smile grow just a bit bigger. “Perfect, okay. The pack will be together, we’re going to move - Derek, did you look into that Condo complex yet?” another dull ‘Yes, It’s ours.’ had her beaming. “ _ Perfect _ .” she briefly heard Peter’s stuttered breath at her tone, too focused now on the boys in front of her. “Okay, Peter, we’re gonna bring Roscoe so we can pack the things I’ve filled your room with, I’ll pick up a few boxes along the way, gives us a chance to lose any tail we may gain.” 

“Be safe, Mieczyslaw, I mean it.” it sounded like a plea and an order, like he was genuinely scared for what might happen to her and daring anyone to even  _ try  _ to harm her. 

“I will, Peter,” then, before she could lose her determination, “We’ll get your justice here soon, just wait a little longer.” and then she was hanging up, blushing dark red and fidgeting to try and get away from Jax’s smug smirk. “Okay, Scott, we uh, we need to talk, let me drive and we’ll talk on the way.” he hesitantly nodded his head, as if he didn’t actually want to have the talk when in reality it was because he hadn’t expected to meet the person she called Alpha so soon. Let alone him needing to be discharged and needed justice? 

Also, she  _ clearly _ had a crush. 

He was not expecting the sheer fucking amount of information she laid at his feet, nor when she admitted to having a teeny tiny  _ huge _ fucking crush on Peter - her Alpha and a man twenty years old than her (though if Scott were honest that didn’t bother him as much as it should have) - and that she was going to help him burn Kate Argent to  _ death _ for burning  _ his _ family alive. His sister, daughter of the sheriff, complacent with murder,  _ assisting _ with murder! He felt guilty that his sister had slept at the nursing home Peter was currently in and he hadn’t even noticed, hated that she had barely spent any time at home in the last two months and he had barely noticed, all because he had pretty much tossed her to the side. 

What really got him was how many fucking languages she was fluent in and the fact that she had a job as a translator that she did on the side, translating magazine pages or news articles for big bucks. They hadn’t had a conversation in Portuguese since they were fucking little, it used to be their little secret language that no one else knew. He was rusty, of course, but it took all the weight off of his chest when they talked back and forth in their ‘secret’ language and made him feel lighter than he had in years. Fuck, he had really missed her

“Oh!” Leighanne greeted with surprise. “Well aren’t you two a sight!”

“Oh no, this is my brother from another mother.” Stiles introduced easily not even hesitating to fix that misunderstanding, then hefted the empty boxes in her arms a bit higher. “We’re here to collect my darling dear.” 

“I can honestly say that I’ve never been happier to lose a resident than I am now.” she replied, clutching at a card that she held close to her chest. “The staff and I that’ve been here for a while put a little something together for you and him. It’s really just a giant ass thank you for all the deserts you’ve made and shared and for just being a genuinely good person. It’s no surprise that he came out of a coma for you, so, here.” Stiles gingerly took the card, nearly letting out a watery laugh at the animated dog on the front that had a sign saying ‘THANK YOU’. “Now you go and get your man,” she rushed once Stiles hugged her, wiping at watery eyes when her back was turned so they couldn’t see her tears. 

Scott was quiet until they walked into a room and Stiles was immediately swept into the arms of a man  _ at least  _ twice her size with scars going down the right side of his face. His splutters of ‘Stiles!’ were drowned out by her rolls of laughter as he led her around the small space of his room, swaying with her in his arms, giddy at the knowledge that he’d finally be  _ out _ . 

“Peter!” she squealed when he picked her up against his chest and spun, humming a tune and smirking arrogantly down at her pink cheeks. “The faster we get you packed the faster we get  _ out _ of here.” he hummed in thought then gave a short nod, gave her a peck on the nose, and began packing away her scarf and cover, ignoring the few gaping at him and a rather impressed Danny at the other end of the room, packing the bathroom supplies up. “Ah, uh, oh right,” she blinked and shook her head, shooting a glare at Jackson when she heard his amused snort. “Scott, this is Peter Hale, Alpha to Hale Pack. You already know Derek, Jackson, Danny, and me! Danny and I are obviously human,” she waved her hand as if that wasn’t important, “anyway, Peter, this is Scott McCall, also a werewolf.”

“Hi.” he greeted awkwardly.

“The only reason I’m not currently ripping you to shreds for hurting Stiles is that she’s forgiven you.” the menacing air around him settled when he glanced over to her. “But if he does so again there will be hell to pay.” and that right there, the seriousness in his tone showed those in the room that he still wasn’t quite right in the head. Maybe they were all fundamentally missing something for not running right then, for actually  _ wanting _ the pack, the family, that they were currently forming.

“Why is so much of your stuff here?” Scott asked after a moment of silence, having just noticed that Peter was wearing Stiles’s favorite scarf and had quite a few of her covers and things here.

“Hmm?” she blinked and looked away from the candle warmer she had packed away. “Oh, pack scent. It helps soothe the wolf and promote healing.” she shrugged, “I also came by every day after school and spent a couple of nights here.” 

“We’ll start getting it piled up in the jeep. No way is any of this shit going in my Porsche.” Stiles did  _ not _ miss the way Jackson shoved the heaviest box in Scott’s arms and led him out of the room. “I’ve got some things to say to McCall anyway.” Danny gave the two a small wave and smirk as he left, closing the door behind him. 

“Subtle, guys.” Stiles mused, then sighed happily when Peter wound his arms around her from behind and rest his chin atop her shoulder, peering at her from the corner of his eyes. “Well hi.” his lips curled into a wicked grin when she smiled at him, pushing a little into his chest so she could properly look at him. 

“I,” he began and grabbed hold of her arm, twirling her around so he could hold her chest to chest. “am going to teach you how to dance, and I do mean properly dance. None of this twerking nonsense.” his eyes gleamed with wicked delight, “Well, not unless it’s in the biblical sense.” 

“Peter!” she guffawed, trying to hide her amusement with stern assertion. 

“I will also be kidnapping you fairly frequently, can’t have the Argent’s try and capture me before we put our little plan through, can I?” he hummed thoughtfully as they gently swayed side to side, content to just be  _ with _ one another. 

“What about after?” it was a loaded question with a double meaning that neither missed. 

“Someone,” he started nice and slow, “has made it near impossible to get a good night’s sleep without having another person near. As that particular someone, I declare that you fix this problem you have presented. It’s a matter of honor, you see.” 

“Oh, so just anybody near you will do? I could get Derek? Maybe Scott?” she teased, hummingbird heartbeat a soothing rumble even as her scent washed over them. “What about Jax? Mayb-  _ Peter! _ ” she laughed, careening into him at the waist as she leaned back, laughing into the hands that held her at her waist and trying to get away from his growl and scowl. 

“No, you  _ witch _ , only you.” he ran his nose up her throat and exhaled against her neck, resisting his urge to devour and claim her. “Only ever you.” 

“Well then,” she mused, brushing her fingertips over his scarred flesh. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt that I like everything about you. Though - Peter, you should be careful about how you word things. Might give a girl hope, sounded like you were asking me to move in with you.”

His eyes were wicked when she met them again, the fire it ignited in her gut sent her near careening into him. “And who’s to say that’s not exactly what I was suggesting?” a heartbeat pause, then two, until finally Stiles was smiling and blushing all in one.

“Guess I wouldn’t mind moving in with you once I graduate at all, Peter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, gals, and other valuable and precious peoples! 
> 
> Surprise, I'm not dead! Sorry for the late, late, laaaaaaaaaaate reply. I recently moved, started college, and got my first car, so these few months have been hectic as heck! Plus I work in a nursing home and Covid has kind of made that place my home XD. 
> 
> Anyway, since I've worked enough to nearly give myself a month of straight vacation, I'm gonna work on updating some of my stories and making some new ones! Anyway, how're you guys? Doing okay? Eating well? Drinking at least a cup of water a day? Make sure you take time for yourself too! These times are stressing enough, so make sure you're putting time aside to just breathe, or scream if needed (speaking from experience, that shit really helps when you're at your wits end).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha, ahahaha, it hasn't been that long... right? 
> 
> aha, my bad TnT

“GET AWAY FROM MY FRIEND YOU PSYCHO BARBIE BITCH!” Stiles roared, tackling the blonde huntress away from the trembling Scott McCall. An action that immediately drew two shouts of her name in warning and shock considering Kate was a skilled hunter and had a loaded gun. A gun which went off twice before Kate  _ vaulted _ Stiles off of her, sending her skidding into a tree. 

“Oh, oh I  _ knew  _ I liked you!” Kate cried in sick, twisted glee as she rose. “You’re  _ just _ like me, aren’t you!? Admit it! You’d kill,  _ slaughter _ for your family!” 

“You’re fucking right I would, but that’s not what you did you sick, twisted bitch.” Stiles hissed right back, cradling Kate’s gun in her hands and looking  _ frightening _ . Honestly, Scott was still caught up on the fact that Kate had gone after him and would’ve  _ killed him _ , had been  _ seconds  _ away from killing him, and Stiles had saved him. Had put herself in danger for him, him! After he had abandoned her and everything! They had made up, sure, but it’d only been a day since then and he was still worried about if she thought he was serious or not.

“Drop the weapon!” Chris ordered, gun now trained on Stiles and the dangerous glint in her champagne gold eyes. “I said drop it, Stiles!” 

“Fuck you!” she spat, “You would’ve let her kill a teenager who hasn’t hurt anyone! Fuck you!” and she was right, but god dammit he couldn’t get control of this situation and he  _ needed  _ to. This could go so many goddamn awful ways and those possibilities only grew with each second Stiles engaged with Kate. “What’s wrong Kate, couldn’t seduce another teenager and rape him, so you were gonna just  _ kill _ him?” 

“I didn’t need to seduce him, my perfect little niece is doing that already. I was just going to kill him to get Derek out here.” out here being the burnt out husk of the old Hale house. “You know what I did here, what do you think?” her response was to shoot Kate in her leg - which the huntress properly dodged and lunged at her in retaliation - and then a single gunshot rang out in and everyone stilled when Kate fell to her knees, then face first onto the ground.

He hadn’t been aiming for Kate, no his shot had been meant for Stiles - who had fired on his sister and his gun was already trained on her - and Kate, when lunging at Stiles, had put herself right in the way of the bullet trying to attack her. He had just killed his own sister, he had just been about to murder a teenager. An innocent teenager, he would’ve - he could’ve-!

Stiles slid down against the tree she had backed into in her attempt to get away from Kate, adrenaline pulsing through her veins and making her blissfully unaware of the bark that bit into her skin when her shirt rose up with the action. Scott was still where he had originally been only now he was staring in horror at Kate’s dead body, able to smell the life as it left her, as well as her blood that decorated the forest floor, the fear, the anger,  _ the hate _ . Allison was crouched next to Kate’s dead body, knowing that she was a mass murderer and a complete psycho but  _ she was still her aunt _ . She didn’t know that psycho side of her, not until the last legs of the month. She had just been about to kill her boyfriend without warning or hesitation, her father had fired on a human teenager as if he’d done it before, she was - she was in a family of psycho murderers and she couldn't - she didn’t like it!

They were a family of werewolf hunters and the only fucking werewolf was Scott McCall who’d done nothing against their families supposed code! 

“So change it,” Stiles started, tossing the gun to the left to put her head in her hands only to grimace at the blood that coated her right hand and used her wrists instead. She clearly had said her thoughts aloud, there was no way she couldn’t have, not with the way her father was now looking at her. “You’re matron now, if you hate it, change it. You’re eighteen, of age, they’ll  _ have _ to listen to you.” 

“I - okay, okay.” Allison agreed shakily and, with one last look at her dead Aunt, crawled on weak limbs to Stiles’s side, shakily checking her arm the blood was coating. She could do this, she wasn’t weak, she was strong. She was the Argent family matriarch, she could do this, she could mourn later, right now she needed to check on her friend, the friend who had warned her and told her the truth when her own parents weren’t going to. 

“Think it got me both times, was stupid tackling her when she had a loaded gun.” She hissed through her teeth when Ali found the gash on her inner arm from where the bullet had taken a good chunk of her flesh with it. Thank god for shock. “My side too, I think?” She supplied while leaning back to look, not feeling the tell tale flash of pain that had erupted with the first shot rang out. “Oh.” and that was the brunt of it, wasn’t it? There, on her ribcage right under her bra, was a single line of burned flesh where the bullet had only grazed her. 

“Stiles?!” and fuck, now the cavalrey was here. Oh fuck, they didn’t get to burn the bitch alive, she actually died fairly fucking quick! Well, now she was pissed again. 

“I’m fine!” Peter still burst through the treeline panting and red eyed, fangs partially extended at the smell of her panic, anger, and  _ blood _ in the air. 

“No! Dad! No more death, okay?! I can’t take it!” Allison demanded when the two men had a short stand off from where they stood. 

“Guys,  _ shut the fuck up _ .” Derek and Jackson - who had appeared shortly after Peter - ceased their growling immediately and cut their gazes directly to her. “I’m fine, the bullet grazed me cause I tackled her. Chris killed her as she was coming at me, Scott thought he was meeting Ali because Kate sent him a text, it wasn’t Ali, I called Ali, Ali showed up with Chris, Kate tried to kill Scott, I tackled her.” Oh, and she had called her a psycho barbie bitch, that was funny. This must be shock.

“McCall get off your ass and get over here.” Jackson demanded, rocking the young man out of his terrified stature, sending him scattering over to the two wolves, not caring that it had been Jackson ordering him to move. Right now he just needed to breathe, he needed to fucking  _ think! _

“Ali, your necklace that she gave you? Dad got a statement from Harris that the girl who took his plans for Arson was wearing that necklace and fit her description. She’s the only one that hasn’t been arrested or put to trial yet, can you put the necklace on her? I can get it out of evidence later for you, but we can kind of rule this as a suicide so we don’t have to deal with too many questions.”

“It’s a good idea,” Jackson nodded, not missing a beat. ”Shot to the chest for a suicide, not uncommon but its dramatic enough.” 

“We’ll handle it!” Chris snapped, holstering his weapon because this,  _ this _ he knew how to get under control. He’d done this his whole life, he knew what the repercussions of getting bitten were, he lost his uncle, his mother, and his cousin that way. This he could do, this he could control. 

“Peter, I’m  _ fine _ .” she whispered when he knelt beside her, whining low in his throat when he saw the blood on her hand. “They’re both grazes, they’ll heal quick.” She waited until she was sure Ali was with Scott before drawing his face closer to hers to press her forehead against his. “The important thing is that Kate is dead, okay? Gerard will  _ definitely _ make his presence known, and then we can deal with him.” 

“You aren’t going to make this a habit, are you? Jumping in front of loaded guns?” even though his tone was teasing his hands were unnaturally cold against her face, nevermind the fact that they were trembling. “I don’t think I can handle it if you do, you’re still human Mieczyslaw.” 

“If those guns are trained on my friends, on  _ pack _ , then yes. It’s kind of engraved in me to instinctively shield them with my body.” she smoothed his brow with her unbloodied hand and smiled impishly. “I know they can heal, but they shouldn’t have to go through the worst of it  _ because _ they can heal.” and that, that  _ instinct _ she had was what told him she’d be a terrific werewolf, that she’d be a formidable Alpha female - that she was most assuredly an Alpha Human - that she’d  _ never _ let anything happen to her pups. It brought the realization that he loved this little hellion, that he wasn’t going to let anyone take her from him, that she was  _ his _ human,  _ his _ Mieczyslaw. 

If that was possessive, if the ferocity in which he cared for her was evidence of his underlying crazy? He was healing.

“You need to leave,” Chris told them through clenched teeth. “All of you.” Peter hefted Stiles against his chest and made his way back to his pack, waiting until they all left - and Scott really spent five minutes saying goodbye to Allison - before he and Stiles backed out of the clearing. 

“Ali, I’m sorry for your loss.” was the last thing he let her say before he sped away with her clutched tight against him. The trek back to the cars was one of tense silence for multiple reasons. For Scott, it was because he had almost died, his friend had almost died, his girlfriend's aunt  _ did _ die by her father - who fired at his  _ friend _ , a friend he abandoned and accused of being a reason he had never had a girlfriend. For Jackson it was because Stiles had been hurt, she could’ve died, and that had put things into retrospect for him. She wasn’t the first person he had actually cared about, nor the first to actually care about him, but she was the closest thing to a family - now that he knew for certain he wasn’t sexually attracted to her, he just appreciated her beauty - he had. He needed to step up, he needed to  _ do _ something, and he was fairly sure he knew what that ‘something’ was. 

“Peter, put me down a sec?” when he looked down to her she flicked her gaze to Derek and then back to him, telling him without words what she was going to do. With a tempered exhale he slowly set her down and watched as she moved to Derek. “Der,” she grabbed hold of his wrist and tugged him back into the forest line. He went hesitantly, a mess of emotions over everything but outwardly looking pissed off and broody, then stiffened the moment her bleeding arm wrapped around his torso and her good one went into his hair. “She’s dead, Der.” he stiffened in her arms, hands at her waist tightening into her skin. “It’s not the end she deserved, but maybe it’s better this way.” 

“I’m fine.” he tried, breath puffing against her hair. 

“I know.” maybe it was because she said it with certainty, or maybe it was because she smelled of blood, pain, and  _ love _ but Derek couldn’t keep the wall up anymore. He couldn’t act like this whole situation wasn’t affecting him, couldn’t act like her death was a minor inconvenience that didn’t have him feeling glad, mad because she didn’t suffer, and hatred for the sole fact that  _ he  _ didn’t get to kill her, didn’t get to see her suffer. He was also glad, glad that he hadn’t been around when it happened, ashamed that he was glad when he should’ve  _ wanted _ to be around to hurt her with a vindication that would’ve made Peter proud. He was scared, too, because she was close to killing another pack member, then she injured another pack member, and the only thing going through his head was ‘ _ this, too, is my fault, somehow.’ _

She didn’t whimper even though he knew he tightened his arms too tight around her torso, didn’t smell of fear when he buried his face in her hair so he didn’t have to look at anything and could just…  _ be _ in her scent. She was dead, Kate Argent was dead,  _ she was dead _ .

“She’s dead, there’s a new Hale Pack, and you’re not alone.” she whispered against his chest, “That bitch is burning in hell, the special hell.” he huffed a strangled laugh against her hair and sighed heavily. When he pulled away it was so he could grab the hand she held at the nape of his neck and bumped his forehead against her finger tips. 

“I’m alright.” her smile was blinding, even if her pallor was a little paler than normal. 

“I know.” he wasn’t going to insult her by thinking she wasn’t intelligent enough to decide if she really liked his Uncle or not, wasn’t going to insinuate that she didn’t know what love was because she was too young. No, Mieczyslaw Stilinski was more intelligent than she let on, she was too honest and genuine to do  _ anything _ with her emotions halfway. Forget the shovel talk with her for his Uncle, no he would be giving one to his Uncle for Stiles. After a few more seconds of comforting silence he nodded and escorted her back to the pack - most of which were in Jackson’s car - and clapped his Uncle on the shoulder. 

With a conversation that relied completely on eyebrow movements - Stiles  _ swears _ \- they nodded and Peter hefted Stiles once more against his chest. 

“You just like doing that so you can show how strong you are.” she mumbled, grimacing at the ache that now settled into her bones. 

“I have it on good authority that you  _ like _ it.” his eyes twinkled when she looked at him, blushing but grinning because yes, yes she did like that he was so strong and could just fucking  _ move _ her and hold her in whatever position or area he wanted and holy  _ shit _ is that a new kink? Oh fuck. “Lovely smell,” he mused into her wrist, “but not when it’s mixed with pain and blood.” she watched in fascination as his veins turned black like tar, pain fading to a dull, empty throb that left her breathless. “You’re transferring the pain,” she realized and tugged gently on his hair, trying to not become  _ too _ aroused when he flashed his alpha eyes at her. “It’s just a little uncomfortable, Peter, don’t put yourself in pain ‘cause of me.” 

“Liar,” he accused, working through everything else he wanted to say to settle instead with what was appropriate… for now. “I’ll taking you to my apartment first so you can get cleaned up, get those wounds dressed, and changed into some clean clothes.” She smiled wickedly when he sat her in the passenger seat of his own car. 

“You have some of my clothes in your apartment?” his answer was to smile and flutter his eyelashes at her in an act of pseudo innocence. In the end of course Peter had some of her clothes in his apartment, some of which she didn’t even remember putting there and was flattered to all hell and back that he had them. He left her to get herself undressed and washed, left her clean clothes to change into as well - though he had left out a shirt and she wasn’t exactly sure why. Not until she was attempting to wrap her ribs with gauze and found it near impossible to move her fucking arm the way she wanted it to. 

And then he was  _ coming in _ and she was still half naked with no top and -

“ _ Peter _ !” Stiles squealed when he entered the bathroom, scrambling to try and cover her breasts - which made the gauze she was trying to wrap around her ribs fall around her waist and onto the ground. 

“Stiles!” he mocked, feigning shock. “On the sink, I’m going to make sure they’re properly cleaned and wrapped.” he shot one burning look to her arms and rolled his eyes. “You’ve seen me naked, Mieczyslaw, I won’t be salivating over your breasts, I promise.”

“Oh,” then, “Well why not?” her blush was the same shade of his eyes when she realized exactly what she had just said. “I mean, they’re breasts and I - I mean it’s not attractive with blood and - or maybe because they’re mine? Am I - not that I - I mean I do-” she stammered, nervous panic making her heartbeat one steady, pounding rhythm. 

“Mieczyslaw.” her gaze snapped right to his shifted eyes, gut curling in anticipation and pleasure at the heat that sat within them. “This isn’t sexual, this is for your health and care.” his hands were hot against her waist and then she was picked up and gently deposited on the counter of the bathroom sink, right at eye level with him and  _ breathless  _ with how easily he moved her and how much she trusted him  _ with  _ manhandling her. “Now, if a situation arises where I  _ can, ‘salivate all over your breasts _ ,’ I will.” he says that as the bathroom blossoms with amber and vanilla, knowing that this alone will be able to get him through however long she needs before she welcomes him as a suitor, as a lover. “Until then,” she swallowed thickly, “let me start with your arm.” it wasn’t as hard to focus on taking care of her as he thought it might’ve been. Even when her other arm fell away from her breasts to clutch at the counter once he cleaned it with alcohol. 

He didn’t even glance at her breasts when he bent at her ribcage, nor when she had to bend backwards for him to the bandage placed properly. His concentration waned the moment he smoothed the adhesive down on her ribcage, bringing the realization that she had freckles and beauty marks  _ everywhere _ . He could feel her heartbeat beckoning him closer, could feel her breath puffing against his scalp and amber so potent he could  _ taste it _ in the air. When he looked up he barely spent a second looking at her breasts, but it was enough to commit the image to memory. 

Pert, round with stretch marks that he wanted to taste, and brown tits that he wanted to covet until they were pointed and hard as pearls for him. Her neck was red with a blush - her pulse beat against her skin visibly and he  _ barely _ resisted the urge to run his tongue over it. He absolutely  _ whined _ when her eyes were like firelight, begging him to  _ do _ something even if  _ she _ was unaware how enticing she was being. 

  
“You don’t need me to take care of you,” she whispered, drawing panic and confusion from him. Did that mean she was going to abandon him? Did he overstep a boundary? “You can take care of yourself and me.” and then she was curling her hand in his hair and kissing him before he could blink. He didn’t understand, but something in Stiles had clicked when she watched him take care of her. He hadn’t tried to sneak a peek at her breasts when he cleaned the flesh wound on her ribs like anybody else would’ve. He hadn’t left any lingering traces that felt sexual, hadn’t even gotten a boner. 

Peter really shouldn’t have melted into her as easy as he had but he couldn’t properly help it, not when she was kissing him so earnestly and smelling of pure want and  _ need _ . Not when her skin was so cold under his hands, nor when he could feel her pebbled nipples brushing against the thin material of his shirt. He had wanted to devour her so many times, wanted to bend her until she was a part of him  _ so many times _ , and now it was finally happening and he  _ couldn’t- _

“Mieczyslaw-” her name earned him a whimpered moan that had her kissing him again with a fervor that he didn’t think she had in her. Especially not when she wrapped her legs around his waist - which was easy considering he had been standing between her legs to get to her ribs - and pressed her body tight against his. “Stiles-” he tried again, groaning when he felt the smooth skin of her waist against his palms. “Stiles.” he gently, but with his full strength, moved her back and away from him, swallowing thickly against her whimper when she tried to keep their lips connected. “Stiles.” God help him but she was temptation-

“Peter! Your scars!” she shrieked, blinking hard against the haze of lust that had filled her and shattering the moment. “They’re gone!” she moved to the side so he could see in the mirror, ignorant - for the moment - of what she had just been about to do, of what  _ they _ had been doing, and Peter...

Peter was staring in shock at the mirror as his scarred flesh  _ rolled _ into smooth skin, returning him to how he looked  _ before _ the fire. He had begun to think that the scarring would be permanent, that it had been too long ago for his body to heal it past everything else it had healed through. But Stiles,  _ his _ Stiles, had healed him with a fucking kiss. 

“Mieczyslaw-” and then  _ he _ was kissing her with intent, fingers buried in her hair and the other holding the small of her back, shoving her against him so he could consume her. Peter was vain, he cared about how he looked, but he cared about the reason behind it more. If he looked unkempt or rough people assumed he wasn’t witty or formidable. He had used his looks to seduce his way into many agreements and into the beds of many partners, now… now he could only think about getting Maczsyz into  _ his _ bed, or him into hers he didn’t care. “Pack meet, put this on.” he handed her one of his long sleeved shirts and closed his eyes tight in a desperate attempt to calm his arousal down. He was thirty six dammit, not some teenage boy who just discovered there was something better than their hands for sexual release.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled through the cotton of his shirt as she pulled it on, wincing only slightly as it pulled at her ribs and arm. “You said it wasn’t sexual and then I just… jump you. Not cool.” she wiggled a bit on the counter and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Okay, uhm, full disclosure, I really fucking like you.”

“I know,” was his smug, happy reply, eyes dancing with mirth while his animal howled in victory. “I really fucking like you too.” her smile was broad and happy, champagne gold dancing as they met his cobalt blue. “Pack meet, we can discuss this,  _ us _ , later.”

“Okay.” she agreed, then with a wicked smirk - “I kinda dug the scars, figures you’re illegally sexy with and without them.” he actually smirked at her and moved away, dragging her with him so he could steady her when she hit the floor. “Okay, right, I’ll behave. Let’s go!” then Stiles, barefoot and smelling of both their sexual frustration and wearing his shirt, grabbed hold of his hand and urged him to follow her. He  _ should’ve _ made some attempt to douse her scent or air her out somehow, but Peter was a proud man. 

Mieczyslaw had shown interest in him,  _ she _ had kissed  _ him _ . She had pulled  _ him _ closer, had somehow  _ healed _ his scarring. She was wearing his shirt, her lips were swollen from  _ his _ kisses, and her scent was mixed with  _ his _ . His human, his Maczsyz,  _ his _ . So what if he showed that off a bit in front of his pack?

“Brostopholes!” Stiles greeted jovially once they entered Derek’s loft, joy gracing her features until she saw the thunderous expression on Scott’s face and the snickers from the ‘were’s. “Why are you all looking at me like that?” 

“ _ You were planning on killing her all along,” _ he hissed, his views on death and his so called ‘black and white view of the world’ coming into full perspective for everyone right then. “You never said anything about putting  _ your _ life on the line!” and then he was marching up to her and pulling up the edge of her shirt to look at the bandage, knowing first hand how to properly do it. “That's... really well done,” he murmured, then eyed her suspiciously. Knowing that, in the past, she had always insisted on fixing her own ‘boo boo’s’ until he noticed and fixed them. This was so clearly not her work that he was instantly on alert.

  
“Yeah, well, Peter did it.” she admitted with a shy smile, “he took care of me and doesn’t need me to take care of him.” and it was because her brother knew  _ exactly _ what that meant that had him switching from english to Portuguese. 

“He’s  _ at least _ twice your age!” Stiles handled the language switch with grace and simply blinked in confusion at him. The age difference hadn’t mattered all that too much for him, but now that she was serious, now that their relationship was definitely going to develop, it was very clearly an issue that needed to be voiced. Even if it was in front of said man.

“Yes, he is.” Scott almost raged at her casual acceptance of that fact. 

“You haven’t even tried dating anyone our age, Stiles, how do you know you even like older men?” 

“I don’t need to have dated someone to know what I like,” was her cutting reply.

“He could end up breaking your heart!” 

“Then I’d be heart broken.” another casual acceptance that had his brotherly protection going into overdrive. 

“What if he doesn’t take you seriously because of your age?” 

“Then I’ll just have to prove to him that he can trust my judgement.” his hands went to his hair in frustration. 

“What if you’re just latching onto him, Stiles? What if what you’re feeling isn’t-” 

“Isn’t real?” she cut in, eyes soft. He faltered at that, watching as she wrung her hands together. “I know what I feel. I know it might not last, I know there will be road bumps and mountains we’ll have to get over, but… but he’s it for me. He’s seen me at my best and worst and still decided I was worth something. He saw how willing I am to kill to protect my loved ones and  _ liked _ it. Even if nothing comes out of it, I  _ know _ what I feel for him is real, even if it’s only temporary.” 

“What if  _ he’s _ just latching on?” all his earlier conviction was gone in the face of her determination until all that was left was his concern for her heart. “What if he’s not as serious as you are about him? Stiles you don’t… you don’t love halfway, you love completely or not at all. What if he’s just with you because you’re convenient?” he hated the way she smiled because it showed him that she’d already thought of all this. Hated that he couldn’t do anything for his sister and hated that he hadn’t noticed her severity of attraction to Peter fucking Hale. 

“Scott, we  _ both _ know it’s better to have something and lose it then to be constantly lonely.” and yeah, yeah they did but this was his sister and he didn’t want to see her hurt, he didn’t want to let her go after vowing to be better. “You’ll always have me, even if you decide you don’t want me around anymore.” he was quiet at that because there was nothing he could really say. He couldn’t say ‘I’ll always want you around’ because he had just proven that he hadn't fought for her. Sure he had thought about her, missed her, even called her a few times, but he never really tried to go out of his way to talk with her or meet with her. 

“Peter, if you hurt her I’ll make you pay” he glared when Jackson and Dany both snickered, “I don’t know about joining the pack but… if I do, I’m not going to kill anyone, and I won’t help kill anyone. There  _ has _ to be a better way.” 

“I won’t make you kill anyone, but if you’re protecting the pack and the only way to stop the attacker is to kill them and you  _ don't _ , I’ll kill  _ you _ .” that was, thankfully, as tense as the night got. It lessened even more when Scott left, leaving them to their own devices.

The next morning they woke up to Stiles cooking and dancing happily all the while trying to remain as quiet as possible, though her giggling as she did certain moves or was way off pitch wasn’t too quiet. Jackson had scoffed at her but anyone could see that he was actually touched by the sight, even more so when Danny began helping her by setting up the table, head bopping slightly to the beat. 

For Derek, Peter, and Jackson the sight was alien but not an unwelcome one. Derek never remembered his mother dancing in the kitchen, or happily cooking anything. Being Alpha Hale had put a lot of stress on her and she rarely ever got to just be happy, everything was always about duty. Peter couldn’t remember ever feeling so… vulnerable by just  _ watching _ people, not like he felt when Stiles was giggling and dancing as she was in a kitchen that smelled like her and pack. It was so domestic and tame, it was so innocent and pure, that he almost felt unworthy of seeing or being a part of it. 

“Hey Sourwolf, Creeperwolf, and Roided Wolf!” Stiles greeted the two Hales and Jackson, grinning even as she bumped her hip against a smirking Danny. “C’mon, it’s almost done!”

“What brought this on?” Peter questioned as he and Derek moved to join them, Jackson soon following. 

“Hm? Oh, I uh, I wanted to provide for the pack?” Stiles started, suddenly very hesitant in her reply. “I’ve only ever cooked in my kitchen, this is - this is nice, different but definitely nice.”

“You-” Peter chuckled, watching her with warmth in his gaze. “-you are-” and he couldn’t think of anything that sufficed just how much she meant to him. How soul tethering her very presence was to him. 

“I’m pack.” she supplied, steady acceptance and the slight hesitation in her scent giving away to her unreasonable anxiety of being dropped by them. 

“You’re more than pack.” he finalized. It was that single revelation that had Stiles smiling so happily that he thought she might kiss him then. It should’ve worried him, how easily he felt his resolve crumble at that dangerous - awful -  _ perfect _ , smile. Mieczyslaw could get away with near anything, 

“Okay, everyone. Eat!” Stiles directed once the table was set, settling beside Peter as if she were meant to. Breakfast was nice, Stiles and Derek chattered enough to make up for Jackson’s uncomfortable silence for the first ten minutes. When Danny joined in Jackson joined in, then Stiles was silent so the three of them could talk. 

Peter was drawn out of his own day dreaming by a soft hand clutching at his from under the table. His human, his girl, was staring at the table with a pained happiness even though all he smelled from her was her joy. He flipped his hand over to thread their fingers together and nudged his chin at her when she turned to look at him. 

“Thank you, for giving me this.” it was said soft enough that only Peter and Derek really heard it. It didn’t stop the surprise from showing on their faces. 

  
“My darling girl,” Peter breathed, kissing the back of her hand. “This is only possible  _ because _ of you. I  _ don’t _ turn down praise, but I will for you sweetheart.” he turned in his chair a bit to look right at her, grinning briefly when Danny laughed at something Jackson had said. “ _ You _ pieced everything together,  _ you _ brought everyone together, to  _ me _ . So when you thank  _ me _ for giving this to you, I don’t know what you’re talking about because  _ you _ gave this to  _ me _ .” he sniffed and shifted in his seat. “Raving lunatic only looks good on some people, and while I’m sure I would’ve looked like a sexy villain, I prefer this ending.” 

“It’s not an ending.” Stiles told him with a grin, “This is just a new chapter.” his smirk should be able to be given a warrant. 

His laughter should be fucking illegal.


End file.
